Gaseous electronics and gas lasers (International series in natural philosophy)

The book stresses the fundamental processes occurring in gas discharges and develops the analytical methods used to calculate important process rates. This background is then applied to detailed analyses of a variety of gas discharges with atomic, ionic and gas lasers being used as primary illustrations as well as important topics of study in their own right. However, the general processes and methods of analysis considered are applicable to any aspect of weakly ionized gas discharges. This book proceeds from the simplest models of a gas discharge through the most complex as the need for greater sophistication becomes apparent. Chapters one through six follow this sequence and complete the analytical framework for the study of gas discharges. Chapters seven through nine blend this framework with a thorough consideration of fundamental rate processes in order to establish the temporal and spatial behavior of charged, neutral and excited species in pulsed and D.C. discharges. Chapters ten through twelve then proceed to an in depth analysis of selected atomic, ionic and molecular gas lasers that are of significant current interest. Gaseous Electronics and Gas Lasers deals with the fundamental principles and methods of analysis of weakly ionized gas discharges and gas lasers. The emphasis is on processes occurring in gas discharges and the analytical methods used to calculate important process rates. Detailed analyses of a variety of gas discharges are presented using atomic, ionic, and gas lasers as primary illustrations. Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with some initial categorization of gas discharge species and an overview of their interactions. The discussion then turns to an elementary theory of a gas discharge; inelastic collisions; distribution functions and the Boltzmann equation; and transport coefficients. Subsequent chapters focus on the fluid equations; electron-density decay processes; excited species; atomic neutral gas lasers; molecular gas lasers; and ion lasers. The important electron loss processes that determine the behavior of a plasma when the source and loss terms balance are also examined. This monograph will be of value to graduate students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of physics and engineering, as well as to professionals interested in working with weakly ionized discharges. By Blake E. Cherrington. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.