Dielectric breakdown of air

The electric field strength that causes the breakdown of dry air is \(3.00\times 10^6\rm\ V/m\).

Question Text

If the potential difference across a pair of parallel conducting plates is 4000 \(\rm\ V\), at what distance between the plates will breakdown just start to occur? Give your answer in units of \(\rm mm\).

Answer Section

Please enter a numeric value.

Attribution

Problem is from the OpenStax University Physics Volume 2 textbook, licensed under the CC-BY 4.0 license.