What is Current Chopping?

Reference is made to "Circuit Interruption Theory and Techniques edited by Thomas E Browne, Jr."

This condition when a Vacuum breaker opening.

As the arc current decrease toward current zero, the arc plasma again becomes diffuse, with the electron current being emitted from a declining numbers of discrete cathodes. As the current in the final cathode spot approaches the AC zero, the arc may become ustable and extinguish spotantly.

The current chop is undesirable and can lead to high, steep-fronted surge voltages when switching low current inductive circuits.