Аннотация:Investigations of an electric-arc discharge are carried out in atmospheric air at atmosphericpressure both between commensurable electrodes and massive anodes many times larger than thecathode. The main emphasis is placed on the experimental study of vertical arcs initiated by openingelectrodes by conducting high-speed video recording of the discharge and synchronously taking waveformsof the current and voltage of the arc column. It is shown that the flow of electric current andflows of the interelectrode medium substantially depends on the speed of opening the electrodes andthe size and shape of the anodes.