Ectons are explosive

electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

emissions observed as individual packets or avalanches of electrons, occurring as microexplosions at the

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. A conventional current describes the direction in whi ...

. The electron

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

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 or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood pla ...

-involving phenomena, such as: electrical discharges in

vacuum A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often dis ...

, 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 A nanosecond (ns) is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one billionth of a second, that is, of a second, or 10 seconds. The term combines the SI prefix ''nano-'' indicating a 1 billionth submultiple of an SI unit ( ...

References

Electron Plasma phenomena {{plasma-stub