Contemporary models of bounded plasmas assume that the target plasma electron temperature far exceeds the temperature of the cold electrons emitted from the target, Temit. We show that when the sheath facing a collisional plasma becomes inverted, the target plasma electron temperature has to equal Temit even if the upstream plasma is hotter by orders of magnitude. This extreme cooling effect can alter the plasma properties and the heat transmission to thermionically emitting surfaces in many applications. It also opens a possibility of using thermionic divertor plates to induce detachment in tokamaks.

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A flow visualization technique which utilized a photochromic dye in solution was introduced by Popovich and Hummel in 1967. The dye was activated along narrow trace lines by passing sharply focused beams from an ultraviolet light source through the solution. The movement of the dye traces were recorded by high-speed cinematography and velocities were found from analysis of the resulting pictures. Two variations to this basic method are described. These permit more accurate velocity measurements to be made in certain liquid systems where test volumes are small or near physical barriers, and where the flow is two dimensional or is time dependent. Manufacture of a suitable dye and construction of an inexpensive pulse laser which may be used as an ultraviolet light source are discussed.

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