Role of a process of forming shock waves during spark channel ionization

Summary form only given, as follows. The paper presents a hypothesis on a basic role of a process of forming shock waves for creation of conditions for high-rate shock molecule ionization in the spark channel at the initial stage. By the term the process of forming shock waves as used herein it is intended the setting of thermodynamic gas parameter redistribution in the space. A source of this process is the appearance of nonequivalent temperature gradients in the gas volume due to the nonuniform distribution of the electron flow density from the center to the periphery of the spark channel. At the expense of this an expansion wave takes place that leads to the almost simultaneous moving of molecules from the center with a corresponding density decrease in the channel center and creation of conditions for the shock gas ionization Simultaneity of the molecule movement allows one to realize this process during the time equal to the time of intermolecular interactions, i.e. for the time of the order of 10/sup -9/-10/sup -10/sec. Thus the process of shock wave formation is radically different from the process of shock wave propagation where into the directed movement involved are molecules only behind the shock wave front. We have performed a preliminary estimation and calculations making it possible to develop a model of spark channel ionization at the initial stage based on the hypothesis under consideration.