Triggered vacuum gap device with means for reducing the delay time to arc-over the main gap

Claim 1

A triggered vacuum gap device comprising: a. an envelope evacuated to a pressure of 10 4 torr or lower, b. a pair of main electrodes within said envelope having a spaced-apart position for defining a main gap therebetween, c. triggering means adjacent one of said electrodes and relatively remote from the other Of said electrodes operable upon activation to inject a supply of charged conduction carriers into said main gap to initiate an arc between said electrodes across said main gap, d. means for connecting said electrodes to a voltage source that can render said relatively remote electrode negative with respect to said one electrode at the instant said charged carriers enter said main gap, e. means for substantially reducing the delay time between activation of said triggering means and arc-over of said main gap when said relatively remote electrode is negative comprising: means for developing a magnetic field in the region where said charged carriers enter said main gap that has its lines of force extending generally parallel to the electric field between said electrodes, said magnetic field being present when said charged carriers enter said main gap, f. said substantial reduction being a reduction as compared to the delay time required to initiate an arc between said main electrodes when no magnetic field is present in said gap.