THE APPLICATION OF A DIFFERENTIAL INTERFEROMETER TO AN AXIALLY SYMMETRIC ARC HEATED PLASMA,

Abstract

The index of refraction of an argon plasma produced by a free-burning electric arc was measured by a differential interferometer. The interferometer is based upon the Wollaston prism and is easy to set up and align. One Wollaston prism splits the beam to provide path separation of the light through the arc; another Wollaston is required to produce the interference fringes. Integration of the fringe deflections and inversion of an Abel integral equation yields the index of refraction of the arc referenced to the index of refraction of the surrounding air. Theory of the interferometer and certain inherent errors of the device are presented. The data-reduction method is described and examples of raw data and results are presented. The value of refractive index minus one was found for 5463-A light. The accuracy of the method is currently limited by insufficient knowledge of the reference air temperature. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0648560

Entities

People

  • Jimmy D. Lamb
  • Paul W. Schrieber

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Air Temperature
  • Data Reduction
  • Deflection
  • Electric Arcs
  • Equations
  • Errors
  • Integral Equations
  • Integrals
  • Interferometers
  • Inversion
  • Refraction
  • Refractive Index

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Plasma Physics.