A new process of negative ion formation III―The energy distribution of the negative ions and accommodation coefficients of the positive ions

Abstract

In the previous paper it has been shown that the negative ions found in hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are formed from positive ions which acquire two electrons from a negatively-charged surface, and are then accelerated away from the surface as negative ions. It will be shown in this paper that the negative ions come off the surface on which they are formed with a wide range of energy, extending from zero up to beyond 60 volts for O - and beyond 109 volts for H - . This energy is derived from the parent positive ions which have 200 volts’ kinetic energy on striking the surface.