Plasma Kinetics in Atmospheric Gases

Abstract

The book Plasma Kinetics in Atmospheric Gases is a worthwhile contribution to the basic phenomena in nitrogen, oxygen and other atmospheric gases. It contains basic introductory chapters on relaxation in translational, rotational (short) and vibrational (extensive) distribution and on the physics of electron excitation and electron distribution functions. In the latter, electron beam excitation (i.e. high electron energies) are included. In the following chapters, much detail follows on spectroscopic constants of various molecules, molecular fragments and ions, on transport coefficients such as diffusion coefficients, relaxation times and rates. The transfer between translational energies and rotational and vibrational energies are treated in this context. Many (electron) excitation rates, electronic lifetimes and rates for chemical reactions for molecules, fragments and ions are given. The background part of the book is completed with an introductory chapter on wall reactions and accommodation coefficients. In this way an enormous wealth of data for nitrogen-, oxygen- and hydrogen-containing molecules can be found in this book. The book continues with the discussion of discharge physics in pure nitrogen and oxygen, and in mixtures. Some examples are given of applications, of which cleaning of atmospheric gases is, in my view, one of the most important. The many processes which play a role in the ionosphere are another important example of the application of the basic material for nitrogen, oxygen and other molecules. The kinetics which play a role in re-entry problems, and which have a limiting effect on the heat flux, are another example of the application of the plasma chemistry of nitrogen and oxygen gases. In this context fits also a short treatment of acoustic and shock waves, with which the book closes. The structure of the book is that of separate chapters which are in a logical order and follow naturally from the preceding ones. The chapters are separate in the sense that there are not many cross-references between them and all contain their own reference lists. Most of the reference lists (but not all) are extensive and contain recent references. A particular value of the book is the coverage of Russian references. However, I missed in several chapters some references as, for example, a recent book by Ricard on a related subject and other publications of, for example, French and Japanese groups which work on N 2 and O 2 discharges. This means also that some rates are given without mention of the discussion on them. Nevertheless, in my view this is a very useful book and I will use it extensively. The physics and chemistry of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing plasmas present a great challenge, and much is still unknown and not fully understood, in particular also in combination with surface processes. In this research the book will prove to be a valuable contribution. Professor D C Schram Department of Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven