Theory of Electron Driven Shock Waves

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Abstract
Previous calculations of the time required for ion heating in the discharge or driver section of an electrical shock tube yielded values much greater than that in which formation and acceleration of the first luminous front is observed to occur. The model of an electron driven shock presented here shows that the relation between shock velocity V and electron temperature Te, which has been established experimentally over a wide range of parameters, remains valid even though the conventional picture of a shock driven by hot ions must be abandoned. Thermal expansion of the hot electron gas accelerates the cold ions, resulting in a shock front or moving electrostatic double layer. Assuming conditions behind the shock to be coupled to those in the discharge region through a simple rarefaction wave, it is found that MV2/kTe is a universal function of W/MV2, where W is the effective ionization potential. This is shown to be in excellent agreement with a wide variety of experimental data.

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