VIBRATIONAL RELAXATION MEASUREMENTS OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN A SHOCK-TUBE EXPANSION WAVE
Abstract
A novel technique has been developed for use in the study of collisional energy transfer and chemical reaction rates in rapidly cooled gases. The principle feature is that the shock heated test gas sample is stationary during the cooling process so that the temporal behavior of a particular nonequilibrium property may be continuously monitored. The technique has been applied to the measurement of the vibrational de-excitation rate of carbon monoxide in an argon heat bath, using the fundamental infrared emission band of CO to follow its vibrational temperature throughout the expansion. In contrast to a number of recent reports indicating enhanced vibrational de-excitation rates for some diatomic molecules, the present experiments clearly indicate that the characteristic vibrational relaxation time of carbon monoxide in argon is the same no matter whether it is measured in a compression (shock wave) or expansion environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0708399
Entities
People
- John P. Appleton
- T. Ian Mclaren
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology