Gas discharge closing switches

1 General Switching Considerations.- 2 Electrical Breakdown In Gases In Electric Fields.- 3 Gas Filled Spark Gaps.- Section 3a Self Breakdown Gaps.- Section 3b Trigatron Spark Gaps.- Section 3c Field Distortion Three Electrode Gaps.- Section 3d Electron Beam Triggering of Gas Filled Spark Gaps.- Section 3e Laser Triggering of Gas Filled Spark Gaps.- 4 Vacuum Switches.- Section 4a Electrical Breakdown in Vacuum.- Section 4b Recovery of Vacuum Spark Gaps.- Section 4c Triggered Vacuum Switch Construction and Performance.- 5 Repetitive Operation and Lifetime Considerations for Spark Gaps.- Section 5a Repetitive Spark Gap Switches.- Section 5b Lifetime Considerations.- 6 Surface Discharge Switches.- 7 Thyratrons.- Section 7a Design Principles and Operation Characteristics.- Section 7b Hydrogen Thyratrons and Their Applications as Developed in the UK.- Section 7c Studies of Fundamental Processes in Thyratrons.- Section 7d Fundamental Limitations of Hydrogen Thyratron Discharges.- 8 Metal Vapor Switches.- Section 8a The Mercury-Pool-Cathode Ignitron.- Section 8b Liquid-Metal Plasma Valves.- 9 The Pseudospark Switch.- Section 9a The Pseudospark.- Section 9b The Triggered Pseudospark Discharge.- Section 9c The Back-Lighted Thyratron.- Section 9d High Power, High Current Pseudospark Switches.- Section 9e Pseudospark Switches for High Repetition Rates and Fast Current Risetimes.- Contributors.