IONIZATION POTENTIAL OF XENON

Aim:
To determine the ionization potential of xenon
Introductory remarks:
Ionization potential is one of the most important parameters in the studies
of the atomic structure. The first ionization potential of an atom is the energy
required to remove the outermost electron from the atom.
Thyratron is a gas filled tetrode containing an inest gas (Xenon) at low pressure.
The thyratron here is used as a triode by connecting the screen electrode to the
cathode.
Xenon is an inert gas and conducts no electricity under normal
conditions, But when it is ionized due to collision process caused by electrons
accelerated by a suitable voltage, a flow of ion current in the plate circuit is
observed. This is referred to as ionization current. The voltage at which
ionization current just starts to flow is referred to as ionization potential, 𝑉𝑖𝑝 of
that gas. Beyond 𝑉𝑖𝑝 if the anode potential is increased there will be a
proportional increase in the ionization current in accordance with Ohm’s law.
When the tube is switched on a contact potential, 𝑉𝑐𝑝 arises due to
emission of thermal electrons from the cathode in the near-vaccum region
between the filament and plate. The direction of this potential is opposite to the
direction of the acceleration grid potential 𝑉𝑔 . Thus in the experiment, if 𝑉𝑖 is the
value of grid voltage at which ionization is observed to start, the actual
ionization potential will be 𝑉𝑖𝑝 = 𝑉𝑖 + 𝑉𝑝
Procedure:
The circuit connections are made as shown in the figure. The circuit is
switched on and the tube is allowed to warm-up for 2 minutes. There will be a
small negative current flowing in the plate circuit. The plate voltage (negative in
this case) is increased so as to reduce this current to zero. This plate voltage is
equal to 𝑉𝑐𝑝 for the thyratron. 𝑉𝑝 is then fixed at about 2V. 𝑉𝑔 is now increased
in suitable small steps and corresponding plate current 𝐼𝑝 are noted. A graph of
𝐼𝑝 versus 𝑉𝑝 is plotted. 𝑉𝑖 is determined from the graph. The ionization potential
of xenon 𝑉𝑖𝑝 is then evaluated from the following formula, 𝑉𝑖𝑝 = 𝑉𝑖 + 𝑉𝑐𝑝
OBSERVATION
Circuit diagram:

Graph:
(𝜇𝐴)
𝐼𝑝

𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑔 (𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠)
Formula:
𝑉𝑖𝑝 = 𝑉𝑖 + 𝑉𝑐𝑝
Where,
𝑉𝑖𝑝 = is the ionization potential of xenon.
𝑉𝑖 = is the value of grid voltage at which ionization is observed to start (volts)
𝑉𝑐𝑝 = is the contact potential (volt),
𝑉𝑐𝑝 = (𝑉𝑝 )𝐼=0

Tabular column:
𝑉𝑐𝑝 = ___________________________ 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
𝑽𝒑 = 𝟐𝑽
𝑽𝒈 (𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔) 𝑰𝑷 (𝝁𝑨)
13
13.5
14
14.5
15

Result: Ionization potential of xenon = _______________________ volts.