Sound waves generated due to the absorption of a pulsed electron beam in gas

The results of an experimental investigation of acoustic vibrations (their frequency, amplitude, and attenuation coefficient) generated in a gas mixture as a result of the injection of a high-current pulsed electron beam into a closed reactor are presented. It is shown that the change in the phase composition of the initial mixture under the action of the electron beam leads to a change in the frequency of the sound waves and to an increase in the attenuation coefficient. By measuring the change in frequency, it is possible to evaluate with sufficient accuracy (about 2%) the degree of conversion of the initial products in the plasmochemical process. Relations describing the dependence of the sound energy attenuation coefficient on the size of the reactor and on the thermal and physical properties of the gases under study are derived. It is shown that a simple experimental setup measuring the parameters of acoustic waves can be used for monitoring the plasmochemical processes initiated by a pulsed excitation of a gas mixture. (C) 2002 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".