Electronic Interaction in Electrical Discharges in Gases

Abstract

The Boltzmann transfer equation has been solved for the case of high current densities and low field strengths where electrostatic interactions may not be neglected. The solution has been examined for two different electron-molecule cross sections for momentum transfer. In one, the cross section varies inversely with electron velocity, and the distribution is found to be Maxwellian at all electron densities. In the other, the cross section is assumed independent of the electron energy. On the latter assumption, the solution varies from the Davydov distribution at low electron densities to the Maxwellian distribution at high densities. Curves have been drawn showing the transition of the distribution as the density increases. The corresponding values of average energy, drift velocity, and average velocity have been tabulated.