Experimental Investigation of Radiation from an Argon Plasma

Abstract

A thermistor bolometer was used to measure the radiation from an argon plasma generated in a plasma torch and exhausted into the atmosphere. Pointwise radiation measurements along the centerline of the plasma jet yielded the axial distribution of radiative flux from the jet. Total radiation measurements revealed that up to 18% of the net power input to the plasma is radiated from the plasma jet. Temperature‐radiation measurements showed the Kramers‐Unsöld theory predicts the temperature dependence of radiation reasonably well.