Open AccessWhether and how the vapors of Al, Cu, Fe, and W influence the dynamics of apokamps
Author(s) -
В. Ф. Тарасенко,
В. С. Кузнецов,
В. А. Панарин,
V. S. Skakun,
Э. А. Соснин
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1499/1/012051
Subject(s) - torr , metal , atmosphere (unit) , electrode , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , atomic physics , chemistry , metallurgy , physics , thermodynamics , environmental chemistry
The recent hypothesis about the initiation of red sprites in the Earth atmosphere in presence of metal atoms was verified. We have tested this hypothesis using Al, Cu, Fe, and W electrodes in laboratory apokamp discharges in air at a pressure of 45 and 760 Torr. Our experiments show that the electrode material does influence the apokamp dynamics. However, for Fe and W, compared to Al and Cu, the start voltage of an apokamp in pulse-repetition mode is higher and its length is shorter. The emission spectrum of apokamp discharges reveals lines of their metal electrodes. Thus, the experiments confirm the hypothesis on the contribution of metal vapors from burnt meteors to the initiation of red sprites in the Earth atmosphere.