| CONDENSATION AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION IN METALLIC VAPORS. (2005) | |||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||
| A first-order theory of the bulk properties of condensing metallic plasmas is proposed. The theory accounts for the effects of ionization on the condensation process, and of the liquid phase on the electrical properties of the plasma. It indicates that there should be an increase in the effective supersaturation, due to impact of ions on droplets, if the electron density is high. It also predicts the existence of a critical electron temperature, such that for larger temperatures, a nonequilibrium state of high electron density can be maintained, while for lower temperatures the electron density approaches that in equilibrium with the droplet's surface. Experiments carried out in wet potassium vapor qualitatively confirm the existence of the critical temperature. The electrical conductivity of dry potassium plasma agrees quantitatively with that predicted by the two-temperature theory, with an electron collision cross section of 250 A sq. (Author) | |||||||||
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