Introduction to the Kinetics of Glow Discharges

Electric glow discharges (glows) can be found almost everywhere, from atmospheric electricity to modern plasma technologies, and have long been the object of research. Most books on this subject mainly describe the fundamental foundations on the basis of a fluid (hydrodynamic) approximation. In that approach the electron distribution function (EDF) depends on the local plasma parameters at a given point of space in a given time. However, under conditions of a gas-discharge plasma the EDF is usually strongly non-equilibrium and the fluid approximation cannot describe some important phenomena and processes.

The appropriate approach for describing such highly non-equilibrium systems and phenomena is physical kinetics. Work in this area has progressed rapidly and a consistent kinetic description of the simplest glow discharges has become possible. This book provides simple illustrations of the basic physical mechanisms and principles that determine the properties of these categories of discharges so the reader can successfully participate in scientific and technical progress.