A Strong Transverse Magnetic Field Effect on Cold Cathode Tube Discharges*

The effects of magnetic fields on glow discharges have been studied extensively in the past [1-2]. In most cases, however, the B-field was made predominantly parallel to the applied electric field, or co-axial electrodes were used [3]. We continue investigation of the glow discharges in various gases using Geissler tubes in a strong ~2.4T transverse magnetic field. We detect the growth of ion line emission at certain gas pressures, which indicates enhanced plasma production and/or confinement. Hot dense plasma etches the capillary's inner wall causing erosion of the material and appearance of impurities in the discharge. This opens the possibility to vary the plasma composition in a desired way. We study custom spectral tubes made from different glass types by analyzing broad emission spectra and individual line shapes, including the anomalous Zeeman splitting [4-5], of the strongest transitions in the expected chemical elements.