Cataphoresis in Helium-Neon Mixtures

Abstract

Cataphoresis in He‐Ne mixtures was studied spectroscopically and the measurements checked by mass spectroscopy. The pressure was varied from 6 to 90 Torr, the wall temperature from 30° to 500°C, and the current from 10 to 500 mA in quartz tubes of 9.52 and 12.7 mm diameter. The results are compared with the theoretical predictions of Druyvesteyn. Cataphoresis improves with increasing pressure, as predicted, except at pressures above 40 Torr, where the quality of cataphoresis improves only slowly with pressure. The slope of the impurity concentration curve does not change linearly with current from 20–100 mA; it increases with current at very low currents and then becomes independent of current. Because of this discrepancy between theory and experiment, a new empirical equation governing cataphoresis in the region of higher currents is suggested. An increase of temperature markedly decreases the effectiveness of cataphoresis. Increasing the tube diameter and decreasing its length also decreases the effectiveness. In order to check for a possible ``retrograde'' cataphoresis some measurements were made with He as a minor constituent in Ne. Spectroscopic observations at the cathode indicate an enhanced He concentration there (retrograde cataphoresis); mass spectroscopic analysis shows that the cataphoresis, while slight, is still normal. The extreme excitation conditions at the cathode render spectral intensity interpretations difficult if not misleading there.