Ionizing current in N2 gas, (1)

Temporal increase of the ionizing current in N2 gas has been studied experimentally, using an apparatus consisting of a stainless steel discharge tank 300 mm in diameter, 500 mm long, having the electrodes within. (1) The ionizing current increases with increase of active particles formed in the ionizing space. The main part is possibly metastable excited N2 molecules. Other active particles to suppress the attenuation then form throughout the space, thereby supporting the increase in the current. (2) The duration in the ionizing current is governed by the long-lived current component dependent on the current value and the injection energy into the ionizing space. (Mori, K.)