Abstract
Abstract A method of studying electron drift speed and electron multiplication rate in a positive column is described. A steady-state low-current glow discharge is subjected to a sudden increase in the axial electric field and the subsequent growth of the current is examined. The variation of the electron drift speed with field strength is deduced from the initial step-function increase in the current, and the electron multiplication rate from the ensuing exponential rise of current with time. Preliminary measurements in impure argon yield an electron multiplication rate several hundred times greater than that calculated on the basis of the first Townsend coefficient for argon. This discrepancy is attributed to the presence of a reservoir of easily ionized particles in the positive column, possibly negative ions of an electron-attaching impurity.
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