Definition and computation of effective transport coefficients for chemical-equilibrium flows of partially dissociated and ionized gas mixtures

Abstract

The authors studied the optical perturbations of the medium when sliding sparks are employed for preionization or optical pumping of the active medium in lasers. It was shown that the sliding sparks are a source of perturbations of the gaseous medium in both the completed and incomplete stages of the discharge. The perturbations appear because of the nature of the formation of the sliding sparks and the form of the voltage applied to the discharge gap. The characteristic propogation velocities of these perturbations range from 0.4 to 1km/sec. This circumstance should be taken into account when employing sliding sparks as a source of preionization of laser media or as a source for optical pumping.