SOURCE PARAMETERS AND EXCITATION IN A SPARK DISCHARGE

A straightforward, '%'either- or'%' excitation condition is imposed on a simple mass transport model, calculated from measured velocities of electrode vapor in the spark, to predict the time dependence of a primary feature of radiation emitted in the Al II spectrum. The data combine to suggest that parameter- dependent excitation indices require re- examination in terms of the manner in which radiation emitted from the discharge is viewed by the spectrometer.