Timeline for How could I calculate the strength of an electromagnetic field sufficient enough to generate plasma in low pressure argon gas?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Jun 1 at 23:26 | answer | added | user34722 | timeline score: 0 | |
| Jun 1 at 19:22 | comment | added | zimmervi | The rate of ionization is related to the energy of the scattered electrons which you can relate to the strength of your B-field which finally, you can relate to the current in your coil. You will need to figure out the appropriate ionization cross section but maybe it is sufficient to just use the ionization energy of Argon (maybe 15 eV) and compute starting from there, not bothering about the exact rate of ionization etc. I think it is worthwhile looking into that! Good luck! | |
| Jun 1 at 19:13 | comment | added | zimmervi | Sharing the video helped. Probably, my assessment of the situation was wrong. Due to the geometry, I am inclined to believe that there is no relevant E-component in the gas. However, I remain skeptic that the magnetic field alone ionizes the gas. Maybe it is a secondary effect given that you already have some free charges in the gas. They'd be accelerated by the B-field component (Lorentz force) and could then excite/ionize more atoms through inelastic scattering. This is also how ionizing gases by heating works. | |
| Jun 1 at 19:09 | comment | added | MXVG | @zimmervi I see, thank you. I had figured that since the B and E fields both contain energy, a B field could ionize as well. Now I understand, why in my classes, anytime an atom is energized, E fields are exclusively mentioned and not B fields. | |
| Jun 1 at 19:07 | comment | added | zimmervi | I did a very brief internet search and found this abstract from a talk claiming that the magnetic field helps with the ionization by modifying the energy distribution of the gas atoms. Still, the energy for the ionization either comes from heating the gas and/or the electric field. The interaction of electrons with the E-component of the field is orders of magnitude larger than the interaction with the B-component. | |
| Jun 1 at 19:01 | comment | added | MXVG | @zimmervi there was a remark in this video (time stamp 4:45) that for the toroid to be stable the majority of the energy must come from magnetic field youtu.be/YjTv-Hj0h18?feature=shared | |
| Jun 1 at 18:34 | comment | added | zimmervi | Just for my understanding: why do you assume the magnetic field would ionize the gas in the first place? I think the electric field or, more precisely, the electric potential is the relevant factor for this to occur. | |
| S Jun 1 at 18:26 | review | First questions | |||
| Jun 1 at 19:08 | |||||
| S Jun 1 at 18:26 | history | asked | MXVG | CC BY-SA 4.0 |