Townsend discharge
English
Etymology
Named after John Sealy Townsend, who discovered the fundamental mechanism.
Noun
Townsend discharge (plural Townsend discharges)
- A gas ionization process where free electrons, accelerated by a sufficiently strong electric field, give rise to electrical conduction through a gas by avalanche multiplication caused by the ionization of molecules by ion impact.
Synonyms
- Townsend avalanche