Abstract: An electric-arc device has two aligned electrodes separated by an arc gap. The position of an electric arc in the arc gap is stabilized by using at least two coils, each made as a rectangular loop and bent around a cylindric surface. The coils are mounted around the electrodes such that their arcuate sides form two respective circumferences whose centers lie on a line parallel to the axis of the electrodes. The length of the straight side of each coil is no less than the length of the arc gap. The coils are connected to a power supply such that currents flowing along the adjacent straight sides of the neighboring coils are oppositely directed. These opposing currents induce a magnetic field into the arc gap which controls the location of the electric arc.