corona discharge

An electrical discharge characterized by a corona and occurring when one of two electrodes in a
gas has a shape causing the electric field at its surface to be significantly greater than that
between the electrodes.

A type of electrical conduction that generally occurs at or near atmospheric pressure in gases. A
relatively strong electric field is needed. External manifestations are the emission of light and a
hissing sound. The particular characteristics of the discharge are determined by the shape of the
electrodes, the polarity, the size of the gap, and the gas or gas mixture. See also Electrical
conduction in gases.

In some cases corona discharge may be desirable and useful, whereas in others it is harmful and
attempts are made to minimize it. The effect is used for voltage division and control in direct-
current nuclear particle accelerators. On the other hand, the corona discharge that surrounds a
high-potential power transmission line represents a power loss and limits the maximum potential
which can be used. Because the power loss due to Joule heating decreases as the potential
difference is increased, it is desirable to use the maximum possible voltage.

In the potential current characteristic, the corona region is found above the dark current region
and is field-sustained. Near the upper end it goes into a glow discharge or a brush discharge,
depending on pressure. Higher pressure favors the brush discharge. See also Glow discharge.

For still higher potential difference, breakdown occurs and a continuously ionized path forms.
See also Electric spark.

WordNet: corona discharge

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an electrical discharge accompanied by ionization of surrounding atmosphere

Synonyms: corona, corposant, St. Elmo's fire, Saint Elmo's fire, Saint Elmo's light, Saint
Ulmo's fire, Saint Ulmo's light, electric glow
Wikipedia: Corona discharge
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The corona discharge around a high-voltage coil

The corona discharge on teeth of a metallic gear

In electricity, a corona discharge is an electrical discharge brought on by the ionization of a

fluid surrounding a conductor, which occurs when the potential gradient (the strength of the
electric field) exceeds a certain value, but conditions are insufficient to cause complete electrical
breakdown or arcing.

Contents
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 1 Introduction
 2 Applications of corona discharge
 3 Problems caused by corona discharges
 4 Mechanism of corona discharge
 5 Electrical properties
 6 Positive coronas
o 6.1 Properties
o 6.2 Mechanism
 7 Negative coronas
 o 7.1 Properties
o 7.2 Mechanism
 8 Examples
 9 See also
 10 References
 11 External links

Introduction
A corona is a process by which a current, perhaps sustained, develops from an electrode with a
high potential in a neutral fluid, usually air, by ionizing that fluid so as to create a plasma around
the electrode. The ions generated eventually pass charge to nearby areas of lower potential, or
recombine to form neutral gas molecules.

When the potential gradient is large enough at a point in the fluid, the fluid at that point ionizes
and it becomes conductive. If a charged object has a sharp point, the air around that point will be
at a much higher gradient than elsewhere. Air near the electrode can become ionized (partially
conductive), while regions more distant do not. When the air near the point becomes conductive,
it has the effect of increasing the apparent size of the conductor. Since the new conductive region
is less sharp, the ionization may not extend past this local region. Outside of this region of
ionization and conductivity, the charged particles slowly find their way to an oppositely charged
object and are neutralized.

If the geometry and gradient are such that the ionized region continues to grow instead of
stopping at a certain radius, a completely conductive path may be formed, resulting in a
momentary spark, or a continuous arc.

Corona discharge usually involves two asymmetric electrodes; one highly curved (such as the tip
of a needle, or a small diameter wire) and one of low curvature (such as a plate, or the ground).
The high curvature ensures a high potential gradient around one electrode, for the generation of a
plasma.

Coronas may be positive or negative. This is determined by the polarity of the voltage on the
highly-curved electrode. If the curved electrode is positive with respect to the flat electrode we
say we have a positive corona, if negative we say we have a negative corona. (See below for
more details.) The physics of positive and negative coronas are strikingly different. This
asymmetry is a result of the great difference in mass between electrons and positively charged
ions, with only the electron having the ability to undergo a significant degree of ionising inelastic
collision at common temperatures and pressures.

An important reason for considering coronas is the production of ozone around conductors
undergoing corona processes. A negative corona generates much more ozone than the
corresponding positive corona.
Applications of corona discharge
Corona discharge has a number of commercial and industrial applications.

 Removal of unwanted electric charges from the surface of aircraft in flight and thus
avoiding the detrimental effect of uncontrolled electrical discharge pulses on the
performance of avionic systems
 Manufacture of ozone
 Sanitization of pool water
 Scrubbing particles from air in air-conditioning systems (see Electrostatic precipitator)
 Removal of unwanted volatile organics, such as chemical pesticides, solvents, or
chemical weapons agents, from the atmosphere
 Improve wetability or 'surface tension energy' of polymer films to improve compatibility
with adhesives or printing inks.
 Photocopying
 Air ionisers perhaps benefiting health
 Kirlian photography uses photons produced by the discharge to expose photographic
film.
 EHD thrusters, Lifters, and other ionic wind devices
 Nitrogen laser
 Surface treatment for tissue culture (polystyrene)
 Ionization of a gaseous sample for subsequent analysis in a mass spectrometer or an ion
mobility spectrometer

Coronas can be used to generate charged surfaces, which is an effect used in electrostatic
copying (photocopying). They can also be used to remove particulate matter from air streams by
first charging the air, and then passing the charged stream through a comb of alternating polarity,
to deposit the charged particles onto oppositely charged plates.

The free-radicals and ions generated in corona reactions can be used to scrub the air of certain
noxious products, through chemical reactions, and can be used to produce ozone.

Problems caused by corona discharges

Coronas can generate audible and radio-frequency noise, particularly near electric power
transmission lines. They also represent a power loss, and their action on atmospheric particulates,
along with associated ozone and NOx production, can also be disadvantageous to human health
where power lines run through built-up areas. Therefore, power transmission equipment is
designed to minimise the formation of corona discharge. Corona discharge is generally
undesirable in:

 Electric power transmission, where it causes:

o Power loss
o Audible noise
o Electromagnetic interference
 o Purple glow
o Ozone production
o Insulation damage
 Inside electrical components such as transformers, capacitors, electric motors and
generators. Corona progressively damages the insulation inside these devices, leading to
premature equipment failure. One form of attack is ozone cracking of elastomer items
like O-rings.
 Situations where high voltages are in use, but ozone production is to be minimised

Mechanism of corona discharge

Corona discharge of both the positive and negative variety have certain mechanisms in common.

1. A neutral atom or molecule of the medium, in a region of strong electric field (such as the
high potential gradient near the curved electrode) is ionized by an exogenous
environmental event (for example, as the result of a photon interaction), to create a
positive ion and a free electron.

2. The electric field then operates on these charged particles, separating them, and
preventing their recombination, and also accelerating them, imparting each of them with
kinetic energy.
3. As a result of the energisation of the electrons (which have a much higher charge/mass
ratio and so are accelerated to a higher velocity), further electron/positive-ion pairs may
be created by collision with neutral atoms. These then undergo the same separating
process creating an electron avalanche. Both positive and negative coronas rely on
 electron avalanches.

4. In processes which differ between positive and negative coronas, the energy of these
plasma processes is converted into further initial electron dissociations to seed further
avalanches.
5. An ion species created in this series of avalanches (which differs between positive and
negative coronas) is attracted to the uncurved electrode, completing the circuit, and
sustaining the current flow.
The onset voltage of corona or corona inception voltage (CIV) can be found with Peek's law
(1929), formulated from empirical observations. Later papers derived more accurate formulas.

Electrical properties
The current carried by the corona is determined by integrating the current density over the
surface of the conductor. The power loss is determined by multiplying the current and the
voltage.

Positive coronas
Properties

A positive corona is manifested as a uniform plasma across the length of a conductor. It can
often be seen glowing blue/white, though much of the emissions are in the ultraviolet. The
uniformity of the plasma owes itself to the homogeneous source of secondary avalanche
electrons described in the mechanism section, below. With the same geometry and voltages, it
appears a little smaller than the corresponding negative corona, owing to the lack of a non-
ionising plasma region between the inner and outer regions. There are many fewer free electrons
in a positive corona, when compared to a negative corona, except very close to the curved
electrode: perhaps a thousandth of the electron density, and a hundredth of the total number of
electrons.

However, the electrons in a positive corona are concentrated close to the surface of the curved
conductor, in a region of high-potential gradient (and therefore the electrons have a high energy),
whereas in a negative corona many of the electrons are in the outer, lower-field areas. Therefore,
if electrons are to be used in an application which requires a high activation energy, positive
coronas may support a greater reaction constants than corresponding negative coronas; though
the total number of electrons may be lower, the number of a very high energy electrons may be
higher.

Coronas are efficient producers of ozone in air. A positive corona generates much less ozone
than the corresponding negative corona, as the reactions which produce ozone are relatively low-
energy. Therefore, the greater number of electrons of a negative corona leads to an increased
production.

Beyond the plasma, in the unipolar region, the flow is of low-energy positive ions toward the flat
electrode.

Mechanism

As with a negative corona, a positive corona is initiated by an exogenous ionisation event in a

region of high potential gradient. The electrons resulting from the ionisation are attracted toward
the curved electrode, and the positive ions repelled from it. By undergoing inelastic collisions
closer and closer to the curved electrode, further molecules are ionized in an electron avalanche.
In a positive corona, secondary electrons, for further avalanches, are generated predominantly in
the fluid itself, in the region outside the plasma or avalanche region. They are created by
ionization caused by the photons emitted from that plasma in the various de-excitation processes
occurring within the plasma after electron collisions, the thermal energy liberated in those
collisions creating photons which are radiated into the gas. The electrons resulting from the
ionisation of a neutral gas molecule are then electrically attracted back toward the curved
electrode, attracted into the plasma, and so begins the process of creating further avalanches
inside the plasma.

As can be seen, the positive corona is divided into two regions, concentric around the sharp
electrode. The inner region contains ionising electrons, and positive ions, acting as a plasma, the
electrons avalanche in this region, creating many further ion/electron pairs. The outer region
consists almost entirely of the slowly migrating massive positive ions, moving toward the
uncurved electrode along with, close to the interface of this region, secondary electrons, liberated
by photons leaving the plasma, being re-accelerated into the plasma. The inner region is known
as the plasma region, the outer as the unipolar region.

Negative coronas
Properties

A negative corona is manifested in a non-uniform corona, varying according to the surface

features and irregularities of the curved conductor. It often appears as tufts of corona at sharp
edges, the number of tufts altering with the strength of the field. The form of negative coronas is
a result of its source of secondary avalanche electrons (see below). It appears a little larger than
the corresponding positive corona, as electrons are allowed to drift out of the ionising region, and
so the plasma continues some distance beyond it. The total number of electrons, and electron
density is much greater than in the corresponding positive corona. However, they are of a
predominantly lower energy, owing to being in a region of lower potential-gradient. Therefore,
whilst for many reactions the increased electron density will increase the reaction rate, the lower
energy of the electrons will mean that reactions which require a higher electron energy may take
place at a lower rate.

Mechanism

Negative coronas are more complex than positive coronas in construction. As with positive
coronas, the establishing of a corona begins with an exogenous ionisation event generating a
primary electron, followed by an electron avalanche.

Electrons ionised from the neutral gas are not useful in sustaining the negative corona process by
generating secondary electrons for further avalanches, as the general movement of electrons in a
negative corona is outward from the curved electrode. For negative corona, instead, the dominant
process generating secondary electrons is the photoelectric effect, from the surface of the
electrode itself. The work-function of the electrons (the energy required to liberate the electrons
from the surface) is considerably lower than the ionisation energy of air at standard temperatures
and pressures, making it a more liberal source of secondary electrons under these conditions.
Again, the source of energy for the electron-liberation is a high-energy photon from an atom
within the plasma body relaxing after excitation from an earlier collision. The use of ionised
neutral gas as a source of ionisation is further diminished in a negative corona by the high-
concentration of positive ions clustering around the curved electrode.

Under other conditions, the collision of the positive species with the curved electrode can also
cause electron liberation.

The difference, then, between positive and negative coronas, in the matter of the generation of
secondary electron avalanches, is that in a positive corona they are generated by the gas
surrounding the plasma region, the new secondary electrons travelling inward, whereas in a
negative corona they are generated by the curved electrode itself, the new secondary electrons
travelling outward.

A further feature of the structure of negative coronas is that as the electrons drift outwards, they
encounter neutral molecules and, with electronegative molecules (such as oxygen and water
vapour), combine to produce negative ions. These negative ions are then attracted to the positive
uncurved electrode, completing the 'circuit'.

A negative corona can be divided into three radial areas, around the sharp electrode. In the inner
area, high-energy electrons inelastically collide with neutral atoms and cause avalanches, whilst
outer electrons (usually of a lower energy) combine with neutral atoms to produce negative ions.
In the intermediate region, electrons combine to form negative ions, but typically have
insufficient energy to cause avalanche ionisation, but remain part of a plasma owing to the
different polarities of the species present, and the ability to partake in characteristic plasma
reactions. In the outer region, only a flow of negative ions and, to a lesser and radially-
decreasing extent, free electrons toward the positive electrode takes place. The inner two regions
are known as the corona plasma. The inner region is an ionising plasma, the middle a non-
ionising plasma. The outer region is known as the unipolar region.

Examples
Corona discharge may be seen around automotive spark plug wires that have become worn.