ARC DISCHARGE SOURCES.

Research is directed towards explaining quantitatively the pulsed arc xenon discharges used for the optical pumping of high energy lasers. A complete explanation of these discharges requires information on the physical properties of the xenon arc plasma as a function of temperature and pressure. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF HIGH DENSITY XENON PLASMAS, by R. G. Schlecht, C. H. Church, and I. Liberman. The electrical conductivity of a high density pulsed arc discharge in xenon has been measured. The experimental results agree very well with the Spitzer theory in the region of 1.6 to 2.5 particles per Debye sphere where the Kihara, Aono and Itikawa theory should be much better. STUDIES OF HIGHLY RADIATIVE PLASMAS USING THE WALL STABILIZED PULSED ARC DISCHARGE, by C. H. Church, R. G. Schlecht, I. Liberman, and B. W. Swanson. Plasmas with pressures exceeding one atmosphere and power densities to 300,000 wattscu cm have been created in a confined pulsed arc discharge in xenon. Theoretical models for the arc have been studied for the cases for which a major portion of the input power is radiated in the optically thin spectral regions using a homogeneous temperature model. For the optically thick radiation andor thermal conduction being dominant, techniques for solving integral differential power balance equation are being developed. LABORATORY SIMULATION OF HIGHLY RADIATIVE PLASMAS, by C. H. Church, R. G. Schlecht, and J. Liberman.