| Abstract: | A quantitative Schlieren method for measuring the electron-density gradient using a laser source in the infrared range is described, which guarantees measurement of densities above 1014 cm–2; a detailed observation of the profile of the gas ionization in a pulsed discharge is likewise described. Certain results are presented of a study of the distribution of the electron concentration over the cross section of the discharge tube in a straight argon discharge during the flow of discharge current and also during the subsequent stages of the process. In order to perform time measurement of the electron-density gradients and to construct an overall picture of the plasma distribution, the Schlieren method with a CO2 laser (10.6  ) as a light source was used. The measurements that were carried out revealed a complex picture involving the formation of a series of successive radial compression waves that exist during a fairly long period after completion of the discharge.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 15–20, March–April, 1971. |
