Abstract
Electrical precursors in the immediate vicinity of ionizing shock waves in argon have been examined using a simplified model which describes the mechanism of electron diffusion through the shock. The solutions demonstrate the existence within the translational shock of a charged double layer where the electric field intensity may rise to peak values of several hundred volts per centimeter. The magnitude of the electron densities obtained at the shock front are not inconsistent with those required by Pipkins' analysis which predicts the main features of experimentally observed electron precursors at relatively large distances ahead of the shock. A dicussion of precursors produced by photoionization is included together with a simple demonstration which shows that an impurity such as oxygen, present in concentrations of only one part per million, could be photoionized and thus explain the electron and ion densities recently observed in the region ahead of moderately strong shocks in argon.
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