PLASMA GENERATION IN THE LOW- PRESSURE GAS DC DISCHARGE WITH A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF THE NOBLE GAS SYSTEM

A new general approach, laser representations and catastrophe theory have been taken to describe plasma generation of the self-sustained gas D.C. discharge. Two regions of a self-consistent effective electrical field with qualitatively different structural properties of the positive column are found. All allows us to propose a logically self-contained classification and a description of the low- pressure steady gas D.C. discharge with the well- defined positive column for an atomic gas system and demonstrate the existence of the similarity laws for all regimes of such a discharge.