The interaction of positive streamers with bubbles floating on a liquid surface
Résumé
This paper reports the results of a preliminary investigation on the interaction of a streamer
discharge in air with bubbles filled with air and floating on a liquid surface. The bubbles are
formed of tap water and transformer oil. It was shown that the strike of the streamer in a
bubble is followed by the full bubble destroying. However, scenarios of the streamer discharge
interaction with a conductive water bubble and dielectric oil bubble are different in their
concrete details. A positive streamer smoothly and slowly slides on an external surface of a
water bubble, but the streamer striking in an oil bubble quickly perforates it and penetrates
into the bubble. The mechanisms for water and oil bubble destroying are discussed. The
applicability of the results obtained to plasma-liquid systems based on the use of foam is
discussed as well.