A study of an electrostatic probe in a continuum plasma containing negative ions

An analysis of a stagnation-point electrostatic-probe theory and a study of two electrophilic compounds are presented. The equations for stagnation-point flow were coupled with an electrostatic-probe theory which is applicable to a plasma containing negative ions. This theory was experimentally evaluated in an argon plasma and was determined to be capable of predicting the free-stream stagnation temperature with reasonable accuracy. The theory was used to evaluate the electrophilic properties of sulphur hexafluoride for a stagnation temperature range of 6500 K to 9000 K and uranium hexafluoride at a stagnation temperature of 5000 K. The electron capture cross section of sulphur hexafluoride was estimated from the experimental data.