Stark broadening of neutral helium lines in a plasma

Side-on observations of the visible spectrum emitted by a helium plasma generated in a wall-stabilized arc are reported. Electron densities range from 0.2 to 1.3 x 1016 cm-3 and electron temperatures vary from 10,000 to 20,000 K. The widths and shifts of all but one of the seventeen measured neutral helium lines are predominantly determined by Stark effects caused by the electric field of the charged particles in the plasma