Abstract
A flash photolysis experiment whereby optically metastable copper atoms (3d9 4s2 2D5/2) were produced in a high temperature (600 °K) reaction cell by the photodecomposition of copper halides (CuCl and CuI) is described. The subsequent decay of these low‐lying electronically excited copper atoms was monitored by time resolved atomic resonance absorption techniques to provide collisional quenching rate constants for relaxation of the 2D5/2 state by He, Ar, Xe, N2, CO, CO2, SF6, and O2.