AN APPLICATION OF LANGMUIR-TAYLOR DATA TO THE THERMIONIC CONVERTER

Technical Report · Thu Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1963

OSTI ID:4685376

Nottingham, W B

Alternate ways of presenting the Langmuir-Taylor data can be of considerable practical interest to the designer of a thermionic converter of the cesium diode type. Principally, the analysis applies to the alterarion of the emitter work-function as determined by the temperature of the emitter and the temperature of the cesium concentration control. Taylor-Langmuir results permit one to determine approximate values for the thermonic emission capability of a tungsten surfuce operated at any specified temperature between 1200 and 2400 deg K and a cesium-bath from 500 to 640 deg K. The ratio of the ion production and the corresponding electron production is analyzed, and an area of operation is defined in which the current density can be large and yet have a sufficient ion production not only to neutralize space charge but to create an ion sheath over the emitter to accelerate the electrons into the highly ionized plasma region of the diode. (auth)

• Research Organization: Thermo Electron Engineering Corp., Waltham, Mass.
• NSA Number: NSA-17-029391
• OSTI ID: 4685376
• Report Number(s): NP-12920; TEE-7002-8
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CESIUM
CONTROL
CURRENTS
DENSITY
DIODES
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRON TUBES
IONS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
PHYSICS
PLANNING
PLASMA
PRODUCTION
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
QUANTITY RATIO
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE
THERMIONICS
TUNGSTEN