Syllabus
*
1. Basic properties of plasma Description of plasma, collective behaviour, Debye length, sheaths in plasma. Basic types of plasma, isothermic and non-isothermic plasma, plasma in different environments, Saha equation. *
2. Collision processes in plasma Types of collisions – elastic, inelastic and their description. Cross sections, rate coefficients, Collision frequency and its experimental determination. Langevin theory of ion – molecule collisions. *
3. Elementary processes Ionisation, excitation, radiation of plasma. Negative ions. Recombination. Interactions of various types of ions. Chemical reactions in the plasma. Technological applications of elementary processes in plasma. *
4. Introduction to gas discharges Discharge ignition. Paschen curve, electron avallanche, streamers. Towsend discharge, corona discharge, glow discharge, arc discharge, microwave discharge. Application of gas discharges. *
5. Plasma diagnostics Plasma diagnostics (probe, microwave, optical and corpuscular methods).
Annotation
The basic introduction to plasma physics covering topics: varius types of plasma, Debye shielding, collision processes in plasma, elementary processes in plasma and their application, gas discharges, diagnostic techniques.