Effect of Temperature Nonuniformity on the Positive Column of a Gas Discharge

Abstract
The effect of temperature nonuniformity on the voltage‐current characteristic of the positive column of a gas discharge is studied theoretically. The coupled electron diffusion and neutral temperature equations are solved by perturbation and numerically. It is found that at currents corresponding to the abnormal glow and higher, the voltage drop of the positive column decreases with increasing current, but this result is quite sensitive to the experimental data. Numerical results are obtained for an H2 discharge.