Eine Untersuchung der Elektronenkomponente von Elektronenlawinen im homogenen Feld II

Abstract

Electron avalanches in uniform fields are studied by means of a short duration spark light source. Electron drift velocities ν₋ are measured in hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and some vapours. It is shown, that in hydrogen and nitrogen the number of electrons increases exponentially by gas amplification with a time constant 1/αν₋, in accordance with a conventional assumption and with previous measurements in methane, α is the first Townsend coefficient. In oxygen and air it is, however, demonstrated that the number of electrons increases considerably less than exp (αυ₋·t), and the multiplication process takes longer time. This is evidently due to time losses of the electrons on their paths across the gap. Thus the mean time interval for successors, started by photons at the cathode, is increased. — In addition, this paper gives details of some measurements of the first Townsend coefficient α, the electron diffusion coefficient, and ionic drift velocities for certain gases.