Abstract

The construction of a gas-tight arcing chamber and continuously recording optical pyrometer is described. The system is reproducible. The current and voltage of the dc carbon arc in noble gases show a sensitive and systematic dependence on the atmospheres employed. A small admixture of a foreign gas, such as air, markedly alters the characteristics of the arc. The arc voltage for fixed current decreases in the order He, Ne, A, and Kr. Thus, the power input decreases in the same order. The anode temperature is linearly related to the power input. The behavior of the cross sections of the gases to electrons in the energy range of the Ramsauer-Townsend effect is suggested as a major contributor to the observed behavior of the dc arc in noble gases.

© 1956 Optical Society of America

Effect of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Chlorides on the Anode Temperature of the dc Arc*

Bert L. Vallee and Ralph E. Thiers
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(2) 83-86 (1956)

Absorption Bands of Rubidium due to the Presence of Foreign Gases*

Shang-Yi Ch’en, Robert B. Bennett, and Oleg Jefimenko
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(3) 182-186 (1956)

Faraday Effect in Gases and Vapors. II*

L. R. Ingersoll and D. H. Liebenberg
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(7) 538-542 (1956)

Spectral Radiance of the Carbon Arc from 1900 to 2500 Angstroms

Francis S. Johnson
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(2) 101-103 (1956)

Physical Basis of Line Enhancement in Argon and Krypton*

Milton R. Baker, S. James Adelstein, and Bert L. Vallee
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(2) 138-140 (1956)