Determination of electron temperature and electron density in laboratory plasmas using the double probe method

The electron temperatures and electron densities of air and argon have been measured at various pds (pressure times distance). The electron temperatures have been computed using the Johnson-Malter double-probe method. The electron densities have been computed using the total positive ion current and the cross-sectional area of the probes. It is seen that the electron temperature increases from 5.8 × 10 2 o K to 7.83 × 10 4 o K as the pd is reduced from 130mm Hg × mm to 60 mm Hg × mm for argon. The electron densities increases from 2.8 × 10 11 /cm 3 to 3.2 × 10 11 /cm 3 for the same variation of pds. For air the electron temperature increases from 3.6 × 10 4 o K to 7.80 × 10 4 o K as the pd is reduced from 130 mm Hg × mm to 60 mm Hg × mm. The electron density increases from 4.4 × 10 11 /cm 3 to 6.3 × 10 11 /cm 3 for the same variation of pd. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 1, 2001: 1-11