Influence of a transverse magnetic field on the characteristics of a DC gas discharge

The influence of a transverse magnetic field and the working-gas pressure on the rotation frequency of the current channel, as well as on the electric field in the positive column and the cathode voltage drop in a dc gas discharge, was studied experimentally. The working gases were pure hydrogen and hydrogen-methane, hydrogen-argon, and hydrogen-argon-methane mixtures. It is shown that a transverse (with respect to the discharge current) magnetic field stabilizes a normal glow discharge against a transition to an arc discharge at specific absorbed powers above 300 W/cm(3). The cathode voltage drop C and the electric field in the positive column are measured. It is shown that the electric field does not depend on the magnetic field strength, whereas the cathode voltage drop increases with increasing magnetic field. It is found that the rotation frequency of the current channel is a complicated function of the discharge parameters and attains 400 Hz. (C) 2004 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".