Basic Processes of Gaseous Electronics

Basic Processes of Gaseous Electronics is an advanced exploration into the field of gaseous electronics, building upon the foundational work presented in the author’s earlier book, Fundamental Processes of Electrical Discharge in Gases (1939). The earlier book provided a comprehensive review of the subject, addressing gaps in knowledge and methodology that had emerged over decades of research. The current volume acknowledges the transformative advances in technology, theory, and experimental methods made over the intervening fifteen years, including innovations in microwave techniques, short-duration pulsed potentials, and high-speed oscilloscopes. These developments have enabled deeper insights into phenomena such as electron-energy distributions, ionization, recombination, and the mechanisms underlying electrical discharge.

This book incorporates significant theoretical and experimental progress, including refinements in the kinetic theory of nonequilibrium gases and analyses of electron and ion behavior. Contributions from leading researchers and collaborative efforts within the scientific community have shaped its content, offering updated, critically evaluated data tables and new insights into processes like ionic drift, electron attachment, and the Townsend coefficients. While maintaining the logical structure of the earlier work, this volume introduces new topics, reorganizes chapters for clarity, and presents previously unpublished or cutting-edge findings. The book serves as both a foundational text for students and a reference for professionals, emphasizing simplified physical principles to aid comprehension of complex phenomena. Through this effort, the author seeks to advance the understanding of gaseous electronics and lay the groundwork for future studies and specialized works in the field.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1955.