Postulation of the arc restrike mechanisms for exploding wires and tubes.

The many facets of exploding wire restrikes are studied. They are related to the cylindrical shock wave which pumps down the density of the center region of a line energy source or around the surface of the heated wire continuously to a lower density. When the density of any region is pumped down to lower than Paschen's electric breakdown criteria, restrike occurs. The cylindrical shocks occurring in exploding wires are, in general, divided into two types. In the first type the shock is generated by the wire explosion and in the second type the shock is generated by the heat conduction of the wire to the surrounding gas. Application of this mechanism to exploding tubes will enable us to create arc channels in arbitrary gaseous atmospheres with controllable plasma density with the contamination excluded. Neutral density shielded plasma experiments, therefore, can be conducted in a controllable environment.