Anregungsfunktionen metastabiler zustände. In helium und neon, gemessen mit hilfe der von metastabilen atomen verursachten elektronenauslosung aus metallen

Abstract

The method, described in a previous article 1), has been applied to the measurement of excitation functions of metastable states in helium and neon. Helium. The total effect, together with its two parts caused by photons and by metastable atoms, is represented in fig. 2 at a pressure of 0,00024 mm. An analysis of the latter excitation function into two parts relating to the production of the 2 1S- and of the 2 3S-state, with the aid of various data from literature, has been given in fig. 4. In the range of the excitation potentials, by applying electron beams with sharply defined energy, two maxima could be distinguished (fig. 3). The efficiencies forthe electron emission by metastable atoms were estimated, for 2 3S-atoms to about 0,24, for 2 1S-atoms to about 0,40 electrons per atom; the photoelectric yield for the radiation involved (584—504 Å) to about 0,08 electrons per photon. Neon. Fig. 5 shows the total effect, the effect by metastable atoms, and that by photons. The total effect and that by metastable atoms show maxima at 17,0 and 18,8 V (fig. 6), corresponding to excitation of the s-levels and of the P-levels respectively. The estimated efficiency for metastable atoms here amounts to about 0,12 electrons per atom, that for photons (743—570 Å) to about 0,05 electrons per photon.