A FLOWING AFTERGLOW SYSTEM FOR STUDYING MOLECULAR REACTIONS

THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A FLOWING AFTERGLOW SYSTEM IS PROPOSED.THE DESIGN (PHASE I) WOULD MAKE EXTENSIVE USE OF PREVIOUS DESIGNS UPDATED WITH MODERN ELECTRONICS AND MATERIALS. SOME NEW IDEAS ARE PRESENTED, SUCH AS THE USE OF LASER EXCITATION OF THE BUFFER GAS AND THE USE OF AN OMA FOR SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS. A COMPLETELY MODULAR DESIGN IS PROPOSED TO ALLOW USE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF COMBINATIONS OF EXCITATION SOURCES, SECONDARY SPECIES SOURCES, FLOW TUBES OR FLOWDRIFT TUBES. THE SYSTEM WOULD BE COMPUTER CONTROLLED AND DIGITAL DATA ACQUISITION WOULD BE USED. PROVISION IS MADE FOR SIMULTANEOUS SPECTROSCOPIC DETECTION AND MASS SPECTROMETRY ON THE REACTION PRODUCTS.