Home – Home – Jornals – Thermophysics and Aeromechanics 2003 number 1

A theoretical study is given to a spatial-temporal development of a spherical glow discharge of low pressure using the self-consistent hydrodynamic approximation. The model includes non-stationary continuity equations for electrons and ions in a drift-diffusion approximation and the Poisson equation for radial electric field. The system of equations was solved by relaxation method for the entire inter-electrode gap using an implicit numerical scheme. The result is a time-developing pattern of spherical discharge. In calculation of stationary distributions, the Ohm law was used as a feedback between the discharge voltage and the current. It was demonstrated that for the spherical discharge, as distinct from a tube discharge, the condition of quasi-neutrality is not valid for the entire zone from the anode to cathode.