An Experiment on the Velocity Distribution of Thermionic Electrons
- Autori: Battaglia, OR; Fazio, C; Guastella, I; Mineo RM
- Anno di pubblicazione: 2010
- Tipologia: Articolo in rivista (Articolo in rivista)
- Parole Chiave: Thermionic emission; Maxwell distribution
- OA Link: http://hdl.handle.net/10447/51818
Abstract
This paper describes an undergraduate experiment that yields the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons by analyzing the I-V characteristics of diodes and triodes. The experiment allows students to focus on the distribution function more than on difficulties arising from the complexity of thermionic emission. By using a simple model, the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons emitted by the vacuum tube cathode can be described by Maxwell’s distribution.