Experimental Determination of Collision Cross Sections for Momentum Transfer.
Abstract
Effective collision cross sections for momentum transfer between electrons and neutral particles in argon, nitrogen, oxygen, helium, carbon monoxide and dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor, and mercury plasmas were measured directly by two independent methods. One method depends on the measurement of momentum changes of the plasma; e.g. on the measurement of the axial and tangential thrust of a plasma engine of cylindrical configuration with radial magnetic field operating in a regime where Hall currents are significant. The other method depends on the measurement of energy changes of the electrons e.g. on the measurement of the elevation of the electron temperature in a plasma by an electric field of variable frequency. The discharges used in the momentum change experiments were probed with electrostatic probes and were found to be very uniform and of low noise. Electron temperatures were determined by Langmuir probes. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0865427
Entities
People
- G. Fonda-bonardi
- G. S. Argyropoulos
- S. T. Demetriades