Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
07:17
Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
12.7K
Plasma ionization balance in chemical-picture and average-atom models
A A Ovechkin1, P A Loboda1,2, V V Popova1
1Russian Federal Nuclear Center-Zababakhin All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics (RFNC-VNIITF), 13, Vasilyeva st., Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk region 456770, Russia.
Physical Review. E
|August 16, 2023
Summary
This study introduces a faster, accurate approximate method for calculating ion partition functions in plasmas. The new approach for plasma ionization balance and average ion charge shows good agreement with existing data.
Area of Science:
- Plasma Physics
- Atomic Physics
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Plasmas are complex systems of interacting ions and electrons.
- Accurate calculation of ion partition functions is crucial for plasma modeling.
- Local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) is a common assumption in plasma physics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an approximate method for calculating ion partition functions in the chemical-picture representation of plasmas.
- To improve the efficiency and accuracy of plasma calculations.
- To provide insights into plasma ionization balance and average ion charge.
Main Methods:
- Utilizes the superconfiguration approach for ion partition function calculations.
- Approximates first-order electron-electron interaction corrections.
- Applies the method under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions.
Main Results:
- Significantly speeds up calculations while maintaining accuracy.
- Calculated plasma ionization balance and average ion charges agree well with average-atom data.
- Provides approximate relations for weak electron-ion nonideality.
Conclusions:
- The proposed approximate method is efficient and accurate for plasma calculations.
- The method facilitates a better understanding of plasma properties like ionization balance and average ion charge.
- The findings contribute to the study of nonideal plasmas and ionization potential depression.
Related Concept Videos
01:52Atomic Mass
59.7K
Atoms — and the protons, neutrons, and electrons that compose them — are extremely small. For example, a carbon atom weighs less than 2 × 10−23 g. When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass unit (amu). The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest element, then later in terms of oxygen. Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant isotope of...
59.7K
02:00Molecular Models
38.6K
Physical models representing molecular architectures of chemical compounds play essential roles in understanding chemistry. The use of molecular models makes it easier to visualize the structures and shapes of atoms and molecules.
38.6K
03:27Ions and Ionic Charges
66.8K
In ordinary chemical reactions, the nucleus — which contains the protons and neutrons of each atom and thus identifies the element — remains unchanged. Electrons, however, can be added to atoms by transfer from other atoms, lost by transfer to other atoms, or shared with other atoms. The transfer and sharing of electrons among atoms govern the chemistry of the elements. During the formation of some compounds, atoms gain or lose electrons to form electrically charged particles called...
66.8K
02:18The Bohr Model
55.4K
Following the work of Ernest Rutherford and his colleagues in the early twentieth century, the picture of atoms consisting of tiny dense nuclei surrounded by lighter and even tinier electrons continually moving about the nucleus was well established. This picture was called the planetary model since it pictured the atom as a miniature “solar system” with the electrons orbiting the nucleus like planets orbiting the sun. The simplest atom is hydrogen, consisting of a single proton as...
55.4K
01:21Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry
799
The molecular ion peak of a molecule in the mass spectrum provides vital information for molecular identification. However, conventional electron impact ionization can lead to the rapid dissociation of some molecular ions before they reach the detector. A milder ionization method is required to increase the lifetime of such ionized analyte molecules. Chemical ionization (CI) is a gas-phase protonation reaction useful for mass-analyzing analyte molecules that are easily protonated to yield the...
799
02:28Electronic Structure of Atoms
21.5K
An atom comprises protons and neutrons, which are contained inside the dense, central core called the nucleus, with electrons present around the nucleus. Taking into account the wave–particle duality of electrons and the uncertainty in position around the nucleus, quantum mechanics provides a more accurate model for the atomic structure. It describes atomic orbitals as the regions around the nucleus where electrons of discrete energy exist, characterized by four quantum...
21.5K