Estimate of the error of optical diagnostic methods for axially symmetric plasmas

For the axially symmetric channel produced by an arc discharge in a gas the relationship between the radial distribution of the absorption coefficient and the attenuation of the probing light beam is given by an integral equation of the Abel type. A computer solution n (r) of the integral equation is obtained through a piecewise-linear approximation of the experimental function u (x). A formula to estimate the error in the solution of the equation is found by means of an a priori restriction on the first derivative of n (r). Calculations of this estimate are carried out for several variance and step values. The function found for the absorption coefficient and the experimentally measured distribution of the spectral brightness of the plasma are used for a computer calculation of its radial temperature distribution.