Fields currents from points

Abstract

The laws governing the extraction of electrons from metals in high vacua by fields, first developed through experiments with crossed wires, then with fine wire cathodes discharging to cylindrical anodes, have been now found to hold throughout for field currents between points and planes. The theory needed for the quantitative determination of the potential gradients at points is here given, and critical gradients then determined experimentally. The generality of the linear relation between log i and the reciprocal of field-strength is experimentally established.