Two modes of moving striations in neon glow discharges

Abstract

Three kinds of moving striations, called p, r and s waves, are known to be excited at low discharge current in positive columns of glow discharges in neon gas. The dispersion relation for r and p waves numerically calculated from the basic equations, which are modified from Wojaczek's (1971) to include the metastable atoms, agree fairly well with the experimental results. The frequency of the r wave decreases with increase in the discharge current, while that of the p increases. The frequency dependence of the gas pressure for both waves is inverse. The calculated gas temperature dependence of the frequency for both waves also agrees well with the experimental values for gas temperatures from 80 to 350K.