The electric strengths of simple hydrocarbons and of transformer oil have been found to be dependent on applied hydrostatic pressure under all conditions investigated, including conditions of extreme cleanliness and for voltage pulses lasting only 1 µsec. A special feature of the investigation is that most of the results are for fresh liquids and electrodes, with which there had been no previous breakdown. It is suggested that electric breakdown is partly governed by dielectric layers on the cathode, which change with successive breakdowns, and that breakdown first takes place in a bubble of gas or vapor.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Koo et al. (1961) studied this question.