Water-dielectric-breakdown relation for the design of large-area multimegavolt pulsed-power systems

We have developed an empirical electrical-breakdown relation that can be used to design large-area water-insulated pulsed-power systems. Such systems often form an integral part of multiterawatt pulsedpower accelerators, and may be incorporated in future petawatt-class machines. We find that complete dielectric failure is likely to occur in water between a significantly field-enhanced anode and a lessenhanced cathode when Ep� 0:330� 0:026