A Multicomponent Theory of the Cathodic Plasma Jet in Vacuum Arcs

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Abstract
It was demonstrated in many experiments, that the expansion of the dense plasma of a vacuum arc spot goes along with an acceleration of multiply charged ions in the direction of the anode. The resulting plasma jet is analysed in a stationary and quasi‐onedimensional model, that accounts for virtually all existing explanations. The corresponding system of multifluid equations includes singular points. The model is evaluated for two versions, that are suited to describe the cathodic jet and for which the singular points can be treated. The agreement with the experimentel results is satisfactory. It turns out, that the acceleration of the ions is mainly due to the electron‐ion friction. The results indicate, that the study of the plasma jet is a suitable tool to get a more detailed knowledge of the cathode spot.

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