
%0 Journal Article
%A IH Hall, Barbara 
%T The Diffusion of Electrons in a Gas at Low Temperatures
%J Australian Journal of Physics
%D 1955/12/01
%V 8
%N 4
%P 551-554
%K 
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/PH550551
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/PH550551 
%X In the absence of an electric field, the state of motion of electrons moving freely among molecules of a gas is one in which the mean energy of agitation Q of an electron is the same as that, Q0, of a molecule of the gas. It is known, however, that in the presence of an applied uniform electric field Z the steady state of motion is one in which Q exceed's Q0, and, for a constant gas temperature, Q is a function of Z/n where n is the number of gas molecules in unit volume. Usually the measurements are made at room temperature, generally taken as 288°K, and it is convenient to replace Z/n by Z/p where p is the pressure of the gas in millimetres of mercury. It is of interest, however (Crompton, Huxley, and Sutton 1953), to investigate how the dependence of Q upon Z/n is influenced by the temperature of the gas itself, that is to say, by Q0. If the dependence of Q upon both Z/n and Q0 be expressed by some formula Q = f(Z/n, Q0), then all that is known with certainty about the function f is that when Z/n = 0, Q = Q0. In view of the absence of any theoretical guidance concerning the dependence of Q upon both Z/n = 0 and Q0, it was decided to investigate the matter experimentally in two simple diatomic gases, nitrogen and hydrogen. 
