Measurements of ion energy distribution on a plasma gun

Time resolved energy distributions of ions of the plasma ejected by a hydromagnetic gun were measured by a retarding potential spectrometer. Three pulses corresponding to different periods of origin were observed and analyzed. The longitudinal energy of the ions was in the range from 200 ev to about 1 kev, the ion temperature being of the order of 1 ev. The influence of diaphragms and the retarding field on the plasma was studied. (auth)