Stoletov constant and effective ionization potential of a diatomic gas molecule

Applying the dimension theory methods to the experimental data on static electric gas breakdown, we established the dependence of the empirical Stoletov constant on gas characteristics. This constant was shown to be 2.72 times larger than the energy expended by electrons to ionization of one gas particle (atom and molecule). Based on the analysis of elementary processes with participation of metastable levels of molecules and atoms under the optimum electron multiplication condition in a diatomic gas we concluded that the mean energy expended by the electrons to ionization of one molecule is the effective ionization potential of a gas molecule.