THERMAL CONDUCTION AND ION TEMPERATURES IN THE IONOSPHERE

Abstract

An analysis is made of the ion energy balance equation for the ionosphere including the effects of O(+), He(+), and H(+) ions, thermal conduction, and the cooling by atomic hydrogen and helium. It is shown that thermal conduction strongly affects the ion temperature profile for conditions of moderate and low electron densities and that the high altitude ion temperature can be significantly less than the electron temperature. In addition, H(+) in concentrations as low as 10% of the total ion density is found to be a major recipient of heat from the ionospheric electron gas and has an important influence upon the total ion energy budget.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0805432

Entities

People

  • Peter M. Banks

Organizations

  • Pennsylvania State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Charged Particles
  • Conduction (Heat Transfer)
  • Diffusion
  • Electron Density
  • Electron Energy
  • Electron Gas
  • Electrons
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Equations
  • Heat Flux
  • High Altitude
  • Ion Density
  • Planetary Sciences
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Thermal Conductivity

Readers

  • Plasma Physics.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics