Transport Phenomena in a Completely Ionized Gas

Abstract

The coefficients of electrical and thermal conductivity have been computed for completely ionized gases with a wide variety of mean ionic charges. The effect of mutual electron encounters is considered as a problem of diffusion in velocity space, taking into account a term which previously had been neglected. The appropriate integro-differential equations are then solved numerically. The resultant conductivities are very close to the less extensive results obtained with the higher approximations on the Chapman-Cowling method, provided the Debye shielding distance is used as the cutoff in summing the effects of two-body encounters.