Abstract
ATTEMPTS to find the optimum conditions for producing a highly ionized plasma in hydrogen have recently been described1. A microwave source was used, and the discharge tube was immersed in a magnetic field. It was found that a more efficient transfer of energy from the micro-wave field to the plasma took place when the operating frequency equalled the electron cyclotron frequency. We have carried out preliminary experiments to discover if such a selective absorption occurred when the applied frequency was equal to the ion cyclotron frequency. This frequency is given by F = eH/2πmc, where H is the magnetic field strength and m is the ionic mass.
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References
Buchsbaum, S. J., and Gordon, E., Quarterly Progress Report, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Res. Lab. of Electronics (Oct. 15, 1956).
Walsh, D., and Shearman, P. M., J. Sci. Instr., 34, 161 (1957).
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BRIGHT, A., RAMANATHAN, K. Discharges in Hydrogen at the Ion Cyclotron Frequency. Nature 180, 1468–1469 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1801468a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1801468a0
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