Branching of streamer type corona discharge

The behaviour of positive streamers in air is studied in a rather homogeneous field created by a short plane-protrusion gap in air. Branching is observed to be quite limited, the velocity of the streamers increases with travel distance and “late” streamers are observed. The interaction of streamer heads can be interpreted as electrostatic repulsion, while “late” streamers seem to be attracted by the streamer channels, indicating a net negative charge of the channels