Electric arc: Encyclopedia - Electric arc

Electric arc

An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, similar to the instant spark, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A slightly archaic term is voltaic arc as used in the phrase "voltaic arc lamp".

The various shapes of electric arc are emergent properties of nonlinear patterns of current and electric field. The arc occurs in the gas-filled space between two conductive electrodes (often made of carbon) and it results in a very high temperature, capable of melting or vaporizing virtually anything.

On a commercial basis, electric arcs are used for welding, for electrical discharge machining, as an arc lamp in movie theater projectors or street lamps (historic), and to produce aluminum and sometimes steel using scrap. Calcium carbide is made in this way as it requires a large amount of energy to promote an endothermic reaction (at temperatures of 2500°C).

Low pressure electric arcs are used for lighting, e.g. fluorescent tubes, mercury and sodium street lamps, camera flash lamps, plasma displays, and neon signs.

See also

• Spark gap
• Vacuum arc

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Electric arc", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki