Abstract
Validity conditions for complete and partial local thermodynamic equilibrium (CLTE and PLTE) of homogeneous, time-dependent, and optically thin plasmas are derived. For Cu I, electron densities of n/sub e/>or=(5*10/sup 22/-5*10/sup 23/) m/sup -3/ are required for the establishment of CLTE. For Cu I and Cu II, n/sub e/>or=(5*10/sup 21/-5*10/sup 21/-5*10/sup 22/) m/sup -3/ is necessary for PLTE (for electron temperatures of 1-2 eV). Application to low-current copper vapor arcs in vacuum shows that CLTE can be expected for r<200-600 mu m (r=distance from the cathode spot). A further limitation follows for temperatures of 2 eV or higher if diffusion effects are taken into consideration. Consequently, the use of the LTE formulas in plasma spectroscopy of low-current vacuum arcs is very limited.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
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