Swarm and plasma parameters

The swarm parameters related to electrons and ions, when they move in gases, are calculated as a function of E/p, where E and p are the electric field and the pressure. The plasma parameters as a function of the electron temperature, Te cannot be simply deduced from swarm parameters, because the energy distribution function is quite different in both cases. Some examples calculated on the basis of the relation between E/p and Te show considerable differences in both parameters. (author)