A study has been made of the properties of an electromagnetically generated shock wave travelling through both argon and helium. An initial capacitive energy of 450 joules has been rapidly discharged into the gas and has resulted in shock wave velocities of up to five centimeters per microsecond. The high velocities obtained can be attributed to careful design of the main discharge circuit. Preliminary results of measurements of the properties of the shock wave are given. Of primary interest has been the results of measurements of the properties of the plasma associated with the shock wave. A magnetic field deflection method has been developed for the measurement of the electrical conductivity of this plasma. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

The efficiency of a He³ filled ionization chamber for detecting neutrons via the He³ (n,p)T reaction was investigated to see if it would be feasible to use the instrument for measuring neutron flux. Calculations of wall loss showed that such measurements would in all probability not be very precise. Using neutrons with an energy of 2.76 Mev derived from the D(d,n)He³ reaction these calculations were born out. The efficiency of the detector was found to be ~0.9 x 10ˉ² % at 2.76 Mev, including the correction for the wall loss which amounted to 64% of the detected flux. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

The present work is concerned with photoionization efficiencies of gases and vapors determined as a function of photon energy by vacuum spectroscopy and mass analysis. The photoionization work was performed to obtain fundamental information about some simple molecules, and it was hoped that the results would provide a means to explain the apparent discrepancies of threshold ionization potentials previously reported by other workers. Results on the photoionization of sixteen atoms and molecules, namely: argon, krypton, xenon, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, ammonia, water, methane, methane-d₄, propylene, acetylene, methyl cyanide and methyl alcohol for the energy range from eight to twenty-one electron volts are presented. Photoionization efficiency curves of these molecules were obtained from which numerical values of ionization potentials, dissociative-ionization appearance potentials and dissociation energies are deduced, and the fine structure and autoionization processes are interpreted. The results are discussed and compared with those obtained by other investigators. The threshold and inner ionization potentials of these molecules are in close agreement with spectroscopic values and are superior to those obtained by the electron impact method. A brief account of the historical developments leading to the present work is described, and a few existing methods for the determination of ionization potentials with their advantages and limitations are pointed out. The essential components of the instrument and their special characteristics are briefly discussed, and the major sources of error are also included. The limitations of the apparatus at the present stage are pointed out, and improvements are suggested. The reasons for the choice of molecules for this work is mentioned, and an outline for further work is also suggested. / Science, Faculty of / Chemistry, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-158).

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