Using the method of shadow photographing, the formation of a spark discharge in the "tip (cathode) – plane" interval with a length of 1.5 mm is investigated. Two types of shock waves have been registered – cylindrical, created when the discharge channel expands, and cathode, presumably generated by cathode flares near the surface of the tip electrode. The computational and theoretical consideration of the proposed mechanism is carried out.

The results of investigations of the microstructure in the initial phase of a spark discharge in air in the 1.5 mm long gap between a tip and a plane are presented. Measurements show that, within 15 ns after breakdown, the channel is a set of a large number of microchannels, the current in the channel grows almost linearly up to 1 kA, and the electron concentration reaches the value of 2 • 10^19 cm^(−3). Kinetic processes in a separate microchannel were calculated based on the experimental data. It was found that the average electron temperature is in the range of 4-8 eV, the electric field is ~ 300 kV/cm, and the electrical conductivity is ∼10 Ω^(−1)•cm^(−1). The obtained results indicate that it is just the microstructure of the discharge determines the relatively high values of the average electron temperature in combination with a sufficiently high degree of ionization.