Transfer of Rotational Energy in Molecular Collisions II. Exchange of Energy in Collisions Between Unexcited HgH and N2 Molecules

Abstract

It has been found that the intensity distribution in the HgH 4017 band excited by sensitized fluorescence in the mixture Hg+H2+N2 is influenced by the intensity of the primary light which excites the fluorescence. This observation may be interpreted as evidence of a very slow exchange of vibrational energy in collisions between N2 and HgH molecules in their normal electronic states. Two other possible causes of the phenomenon—self-reversal and reactions involving high energy Hg atoms formed by stepwise excitation—are ruled out by additional experiments.