Editing Spark-gap transmitter (section)

====Quenched spark gap====
The speed at which signals may be transmitted is naturally limited by the time taken for the spark to be extinguished. If, as described above, the conductive plasma does not, during the zero points of the alternating current, cool enough to extinguish the spark, a 'persistent spark' is maintained until the stored energy is dissipated, permitting practical operation only up to around 60 signals per second.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} If active measures are taken to break the arc (either by blowing air through the spark or by lengthening the spark gap), a much shorter "quenched spark" may be obtained.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} A simple quenched spark system still permits several oscillations of the capacitor circuit in the time taken for the spark to be quenched. With the spark circuit broken, the transmission frequency is solely determined by the antenna resonant circuit, which permits simpler tuning.