VIBRATIONAL RELAXATION IN DISSOCIATING DIATOMIC GASES

Abstract

This article questions the available theoretical analyses relating to the vibrational excitation of a dissociating gas which assume that the gas dissociates from vibrational level populations given by the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution law. The two theories of thermal dissociation are briefly outlined and it is shown that either theory gives non-equilibrium-level populations. Furthermore, the use of a simple relaxation equation to describe the vibrational excitation of anharmonic oscillators in high vibrational levels is questioned.