  It is proposed to levitate a conducting sphere in a high pressure Taylor flow
and to charge it up to gigavolt potentials, either mechanically as in a Van de
Graaff electrostatic generator, or inductively by a rising magnetic field. If
the Taylor flow is sufficiently fast, it should overcome the electric pressure
and breakdown by stepped leader formation, leading to the maximum attainable
voltage by the Paschen law. Discharging the electrostatically stored energy can
be done by controlled breakdown. With gigajoule energies stored and released in
about 10^-8 sec, this implies and electric pulse power of the order 10^17 Watt,
opening the prospect of large driver energies for thermonuclear ignition.
