Evaluation of electron temperature in transverse and axial magnetic fields in an arc plasma by diffusion voltage measurement

The diffusion voltage in a mercury arc plasma has been measured for arc currents from 2.5 A to 5 A in transverse and axial magnetic fields from zero to 1.1 kG. Assuming the radial distribution of charged particles proposed by Ghosal et al, (1978) and utilizing the method of Sen et al. (1983), the ratio of electron temperatures with and without a magnetic field has been evaluated. It becomes a maximum in an axial field and then decreases, whereas it shows a minimum in a transverse field and then increases. An expression for the ratio of the electron temperature with and without a field has been deduced that explains these results. Quantitative agreement between experiment and theory is fairly satisfactory.