| Abstract: | The one-dimensional expansion of a plasma with different temperatures and two sorts of ions into a vacuum is examined. When the ion velocity distribution in the plasma is Maxwellian, propagation of a rarefaction wave is observed, the boundary of which is a weak discontinuity moving with the velocity of ionic sound in the plasma. The value of this velocity is found for the plasma in question. Attention is mainly focused on finding the first two moments of the distribution functions, i.e., the mean velocities and the densities of the heavy particles. An approximate asymptotic solution is obtained for the system of transport equations in the case when the two kinds of ions have similar masses, and the system is solved numerically by computer. Some features of the solutions, typifying a plasma in which the different sorts of ions have different masses, are analyzed in detail.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 32–38, January–February, 1970.In conclusion the author thanks N. T. Pashchenko for suggesting the problem and showing unfailing interest. |
