INSTABILITY OF IONIZATION EQUILIBRIUM OF A WEAKLY IONIZED 3-COMPONENT PLASMA

The general stability conditions of a three-component plasma lead, in addition to the usual critical phenomena, to the appearance of a chemical instability, connected with the multiple solution of the law of mass action. As a result of a first-order transition the system will separate into two phases with different degrees of ionization. As the fraction of highly ionized phase increases, the conductivity of the system becomes metallic. Such a phenomenon can explain the metal-dielectric transition and its connection with such critical phenomena in different systems as weak electrolytes, molten salts, metal-ammonia solutions, and solid-state plasmas. © 1979 The American Physical Society.