85 research outputs found
UV continuum emission and diagnostics of hydrogen-containing non-equilibrium plasmas
For the first time the emission of the radiative dissociation continuum of
the hydrogen molecule ( electronic
transition) is proposed to be used as a source of information for the
spectroscopic diagnostics of non-equilibrium plasmas. The detailed analysis of
excitation-deactivation kinetics, rate constants of various collisional and
radiative transitions and fitting procedures made it possible to develop two
new methods of diagnostics of: (1) the ground state
vibrational temperature from the relative intensity
distribution, and (2) the rate of electron impact dissociation
(d[\mbox{H_{2}}]/dt)_{\text{diss}} from the absolute intensity of the
continuum. A known method of determination of from relative
intensities of Fulcher- bands was seriously corrected and simplified
due to the revision of transition probabilities and cross sections of
electron impact excitation. General considerations are illustrated
with examples of experiments in pure hydrogen capillary-arc and H+Ar
microwave discharges.Comment: REVTeX, 25 pages + 12 figures + 9 tables. Phys. Rev. E, eprint
replaced because of resubmission to journal after referee's 2nd repor
Origin of the Biologically Important Elements
The chemical elements most widely distributed in terrestrial living creatures are the ones (apart from inert helium and neon) that are commonest in the Universe--hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. A chemically different Universe would clearly have different biology, if any. We explore here the nuclear processes in stars, the early Universe, and elsewhere that have produced these common elements, and, while we are at it, also encounter the production of lithium, gold, uranium, and other elements of sociological, if not biological, importance. The relevant processes are, for the most part, well understood. Much less well understood is the overall history of chemical evolution of the Galaxy, from pure hydrogen and helium to the mix of elements we see today. One implication is that we cannot do a very good job of estimating how many stars and which ones might be orbited by habitable planets
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