Abstract
A propos of the Herzfeld and Rice1 theory of acoustic dispersion in gases, by which a lag in the transfer of translational energy into vibrational energy in high-frequency collisions of molecules is supposed to take place, Dwyer2 has recently described experiments in which the after-effect of collisions produced when a discharge passes through a gas is evidenced by the persistence of absorption lines in the visible spectrum for a short time after the discharge has ceased. While these experiments give credence to the ‘relaxation theory’ in its original form, they have no necessary connexion with supersonic dispersion, since Dwyer made no supersonic experiments on the gas in question (iodine).
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References
Phys. Rev., 31, 691 (1928).
J. Chem. Phys., 7, 40 (1939).
Ann. Phys., 64, 584 (1898).
Proc. Phys. Soc., 47, 543 (1935).
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RICHARDSON, E. Supersonic Dispersion and Infra-Red Radiation. Nature 143, 638–639 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143638a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143638a0
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