Scattering of Fast Neon Atoms in Neon Gas

The angular distribution of fast neon atoms scattered by neon gas has been measured. The energies of the incident atoms ranged from 0.30 to 3.0 kev and the scattering was observed for angular deviations extending from 16° to 64° in the laboratory system. An interatomic potential was calculated from the measurements and may be represented for atom separations of 0.4 to 1.0 A as $V\left(r\right)=10.4\mathrm{}\times {10}^{-9\mathrm{}}{e}^{-4.25r}$ ergs ($r$ in A). The angular distribution of ions produced in the neutral atom collisions has also been measured.