Experiments Concerning Nonequilibrium Conductivity in a Seeded Plasma

Abstract

Measurements of conductivity have been made in a plasma composed of argon seeded with potassium vapor. The gas temperature was 2000°K; the pressure, 1 atm; and the potassium concentration was between 0.22 and 0.80 mole-percent. Conductivity values, calculated from a two-temperature model in which the energy dependence of the cross sections and radiation losses from the plasma are taken into account, agree well with experimental values. Measured values of the plasma temperature appear to be about 10% less than predicted values. Relaxation times for the conductivity in response to a step function change in the electric field were proportional to (n_e0l/σ_0E^2) and were a few tens of microseconds for a field strength in the range 3 to 10 v/cm. The ionization rate appeared to be limited primarily by the heating rate for the plasma, and the short relaxation times suggest that ionization occurs by a multistep process. Analysis of conductivity and light intensity data obtained during the transient period indicates that the electron temperature approaches its final value during the first few microseconds.