A new model for electrical ageing and breakdown in dielectrics

We derive a simple but generally applicable model for multi-factor ageing in which thermally-induced bond scission is a universal underlying physical process which determines ageing. The final destruction of the dielectric is assumed to occur by a Griffith-crack treeing process and this will have a formative time which will be part of the overall ageing time. Whether it will be a significant part will depend on t_c and therefore on the field E