Experimental Study of the Effects of Magnetic Field Intensity on Trichel Pulses

In this paper, we investigated how magnetic field influenced Trichel discharges by performing a statistical analysis of the current amplitude and pulse interval of Trichel discharges at various magnetic field intensities. Experimental results indicate that the amplitude and pulse intervals always obey lognormal functions. As the magnetic field intensity increased, the current amplitudes almost decreased and the pulse intervals increased significantly. The paths of negative ions produced in the Trichel discharge were curved by the magnetic field, weakening their shielding effect. A magnetic field can enhance the possibility of Trichel discharge with small energy release. Moreover, the characteristics of the Trichel pulse could be controlled with only magnetic field and without any energy addition.