Role of High Voltage in

Production & Breakdown of

Unstable States of Matter
SYED TAMKANAT MUNIR
2K17 – MELE – 17
HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING
High Voltage ?
General Definition
Electrical Energy at voltages high enough to inflict harm on living organisms
Industrial Definition
Voltage above a particular threshold

International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) and its national counterparts (IET, IEEE etc.)
define high voltage as above 1000 V for alternating current, and at least 1500 V for direct
current
 States of Matter
Most people are familiar with three states of matter – solids, liquids and gases.
Unstable States of Matter ?
There are two more that are less commonly known but just as important – Plasmas and Bose-
Einstein condensates.

oPlasma - 4th State of Matter

oBose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) - 5th State of Matter

Plasma
Plasma can be referred to as a gas that can carry an electrical charge
Exists when atoms are in an excited state
Jumping of energy levels give off light (photon)
Random motion like normal gas particles
However, unlike gas, contains free ions and electrons, which gives plasma its ability to conduct
electricity.
 Plasma Sources
Artificial
Fluorescent lights
Neon signs

Natural
Lightning
Sun

A lightning storm is an example of plasma, one of the known states of matter. Plasma is atoms in a very
excited state and giving off light.
Bose–Einstein Condensate (BEC)
In a Bose-Einstein condensate, atoms can no longer bounce around as individual particles.
Instead they must all act in exactly the same way, and you can’t tell them apart.
BEC (Cont.)
There is a temperature at which molecular motion (therefore everything) stops, this is called
absolute zero (0K or around -273°C)
Just a fraction above this temperature – and only for some elements – a BEC occurs
The atoms start behaving like little waves and start overlapping one another until they
eventually act like one wave and essentially become a super-atom
They are not bonded or mixed – they have become indistinguishable from one another, having
the same qualities and existing in the same place.
According to Daniel Kleppner from MIT:
“Particles have lost their identity”. One atom can’t tell itself from another.
Historic Background-BEC
In 1924, two scientists, Albert Einstein and Satyendra Bose predicted a 5th state of matter which
would occur at very-very low temperatures.

Bose Einstein
Historic Background-BEC (Cont.)
In 1995, Wolfgang Ketterle and his team of graduate students discovered the 5th state of matter
for the first time.
Ketterle and two other scientists received the highest award in science
For Discovering Bose-Einstein condensate:
The Nobel Prize

A computer image of a
Bose-Einstein Condensate
Un-stability of BEC
Compared to more commonly encountered states of matter, Bose–Einstein condensates are extremely
fragile.
The slightest interaction with the external environment can be enough to warm them past the
condensation threshold, eliminating their interesting properties and forming a normal gas.
BEC

Super-Cooling Heat
Temperature
Rise Due to
Surroundings

Therefore, BEC is not just unstable but it is not our concern at High Temperatures that occur at High
Voltages.
But what happens if you raise the
temperature to super-high levels…
between
1000°C and 1,000,000,000°C ?
Production of Plasma
When matter is heated to very high temperatures, it turns into a plasma
Production of Plasma (Cont.)

PLASMA
Role of HV in Production of Plasma
The role of the high voltage source is to provide a strong electrical field that accelerates any free
electrons in the gap to high velocities.
If the accelerated electrons acquire sufficient kinetic energy (from the high electric field), they
will break loose additional free electrons
The number of ions and free electrons grows exponentially in a runaway process called
avalanche breakdown
The breakdown process creates a partially-conducting glowing path through the ionized gas and
free electrons
This results in the production of Plasma and has many useful applications
Electrical Breakdown
Electrical breakdown or dielectric breakdown is when current flows through an electrical
insulator when the voltage applied across it exceeds the breakdown voltage
This results in the insulator becoming electrically conductive
Breakdown may be a momentary event (as in an electrostatic discharge), or may lead to a
continuous arc
Electrical breakdown occurs within a gas when the dielectric strength of the gas is exceeded
Regions of intense voltage gradients can cause nearby gas to partially ionize and begin
conducting – Plasma
This is done deliberately in low pressure discharges such as in fluorescent lights
The voltage that leads to electrical breakdown of a gas is approximated by Panchen's Law
Role of HV in Breakdown of Plasma

The high voltage is only necessary to initiate the avalanche breakdown process
Once avalanche breakdown has "ignited" the plasma through the length of the gap, the voltage
across the gap drops significantly
A much lower voltage is then sufficient to maintain the conductive plasma discharge.
If High voltage is further applied or the process is not controlled properly, the breakdown
process continues and leads to instability
Therefore, it is necessary that the system is not disturbed any further once stable breakdown is
achieved.
Conclusion
High Voltage Electrical Discharges are applied in the production and breakdown of Plasma
utilizing various gases depending upon the requirement
HV, therefore, plays an important role in Plasma for the following reasons:
Applications in Medical Sciences
Applications in Semi-conductors
Applications in Environmental Protection
LCD Fabrication
Industrial Applications
Applications of Plasma
References
http://www.adtecusa.com/
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-plasma-608345
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_breakdown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschen%27s_law
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1499-states-of-matter