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Atomic nitrogen, produced from very pure nitrogen in a microwave discharge and detected by means of electron paramagnetic resonance, was increased from 2.0×1013 atoms/cm3 to 1.2×1015 atoms/cm3 by the addition of ≈5×1012 molecules/cm3 of SF6 to the gas before the discharge; the pink glow intensity also is increased several orders of magnitude and its time duration extended by ≈10. Nitric oxide and oxygen increase the number of atoms leaving the discharge to the same extent as SF6, but much larger amounts must be added. When nitric oxide is added between the discharge and the subsequent pink glow, comparable increases in atomic nitrogen concentration (≈20 times) are observed without the production of oxygen atoms.

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