The Analysis and Purification of Rare Gases by Means of Electric Discharges

Abstract

Through the phenomenon of cataphoresis in gas discharges, impurities are carried toward the cathode and concentrated there. This can be used for the purification of rare gases, in particular, for the removal of traces of one rare gas from another rare gas. The technique is simple and completely automatic. The same technique can be used for the analysis of rare gases. The high concentration of the impurities near the cathode increases the sensitivity by a large factor. One part of neon in 200‐million parts of helium has been detected without difficulties.