Chapter V the breakdown of dielectrics

Many authors were concerned with the metals used in electrodes. Rozanova and Granovskii (1), in a paper concerned with breakdown of a gap in vacuum, came forth with the surprising finding that breakdown varied as the increasing order of the mechanical strength of the anode materials, C, Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mo and W, where the material of the cathode was not changed. Cohen (2), in a study of highly compressed gases, found that the cathode metal played an important role at high pressure because of field emission. He thus extended the findings of Skilling, Young and Trump from earlier work. However, he points out that oxide coatings can overshadow any effects traceable to differences among pure, clean metals; he suggests that the anode metal is also important.