Which mechanism causes arcing when a high-voltage DC circuit containing substantial inductance is rapidly opened?

💡 Explanation

When a high-voltage DC circuit with inductance is suddenly opened, the collapsing magnetic field induces a large voltage spike due to inductive energy converted via the emf equation, resulting in arcing across the opening contacts. Therefore inductive energy converts resulting in arcing, rather than reactance effects, the skin effect concentrating current, or interference inducing voltages.

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