Fractional Diversion of Discharge Current into Conductive Bodies in Contact with Plasmas

The phenomenon of discharge current diversion by conductive parts (electrodes, design elements or substrates) in contact with plasmas is considered for both DC and AC discharges. For the first time, atmospheric plasmatrons are analysed together with the glow discharge devices. A special experiment has been carried out that proved directly the correctness of the proposed approach. The negative sides of the phenomenon are discussed. In some practical cases, non-evident problems are formulated and their solutions are proposed