DRIFT AND DIFFUSION OF POTASSIUM IONS IN NITROGEN

Measurements of the drift velocity and lateral diffusion of positive potassium ions in nitrogen at room temperature (290-300°K) are reported for values of E/N (E is the electric field strength in v cm-1, N the gas number density in cm-3) up to 320×10-17 v cm 2. The zero-field reduced mobility of the ions was found to be 2·53±0·02 cm2v-1s-1, the mobility of the ions increasing above E/N = 30×10-17 and decreasing above E/N = 220×10-17. The ions are shown to have remained within 5% of thermal equilibrium with the gas molecules for E/Nless, similar25×10-17. The variations of drift velocity and lateral diffusion with E/N are compared with other available data.