ELECTRON COLLISION FREQUENCY IN NITRIC OXIDE

Abstract

The conductivity ratio, ρ, together with the electron radiation temperatures, T_e, were measured in an NO afterglow, using a microwave wave-guide diagnostic method and noise sampling technique respectively. The normalized values of ρ are plotted versus T_e in the electron radiation temperature interval 1 200–12 000 K° for pressures ranging from 0.25 to 4.0 Torr. Assuming the electrons to be Maxwellianized, the total collision frequency can be expressed as ν_c = N∙1.50 × 10⁻⁸u(eV)^1/2 within the limits of accuracy of the experiment; however, the relation ν_c = N∙1.55 × 10⁻⁸u(eV)^0.4 yields a closer fit to the mean of the experimental data. The electron thermalization is found to be nearly independent of pressure, indicating that metastable interactions may occur; some of these have been included in the discussion.