Ectons
Encyclopedia
Ectons are explosive electron
emissions observed as individual packets or avalanches of electrons, occurring as microexplosions at the cathode
. The electron current
in an ecton starts flowing as a result of overheating of the metal cathode because of the high energy density (104Jg-1), and stops when the emission zone cools off.
Ectons occur in plasma
-involving phenomena, such as: electrical discharges in vacuum
, cathode spots of vacuum arcs, volumetric discharges in gases, pseudosparks, coronas, unipolar arcs, etc.
An ecton consists of individual portions of electrons (1011– 1012 particles). The formation time is of the order of nanoseconds
.
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
emissions observed as individual packets or avalanches of electrons, occurring as microexplosions at the cathode
Cathode
A cathode is an electrode through which electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: CCD .Cathode polarity is not always negative...
. The electron current
Electric current
Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...
in an ecton starts flowing as a result of overheating of the metal cathode because of the high energy density (104Jg-1), and stops when the emission zone cools off.
Ectons occur in plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
-involving phenomena, such as: electrical discharges in vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
, cathode spots of vacuum arcs, volumetric discharges in gases, pseudosparks, coronas, unipolar arcs, etc.
An ecton consists of individual portions of electrons (1011– 1012 particles). The formation time is of the order of nanoseconds
1 E-9 s
A nanosecond is one billionth of a second . One nanosecond is to one second as one second is to 31.7 years.The word nanosecond is formed by the prefix nano and the unit second. Its symbol is ns....
.