Vibrational relaxation of nitrogen by various collision partners at 2500°K

Abstract

The use of light emission from sulphur dioxide to measure vibrational relaxation times in shock-heated gases is described. Results for nitrogen relaxed by N₂, SO₂, O₂, He, D₂, Ar and Kr as collision partners at 2500° K are reported. All except SO₂ and O₂ fit both Millikan and White's correlation and Schwartz, Slawsky and Herzfeld's theory: energy transfer from internal modes of H₂ and D₂ and from the rotational mode of N₂ do not contribute significantly to the rate of vibrational relaxation.