Thermo-optical pressure difference in one-component gas

Abstract

A new phenomenon—thermo-optical pressure difference in the gas (TOPD) is regarded. This effect is the steady state of the second order which arises in the gas located in a closed capillary in the presence of a fixed temperature gradient and a resonant optical radiation. TOPD is the result of imposition thermal transpiration and light-induced drift of gas in a capillary. The problem is solved on the basis of the linearized Boltzmann kinetic equations for excited and unexcited gaseous particles. Expressions for the kinetic coefficients and pressure drop in gas at the ends of the closed capillary are obtained. Possible cases of the steady state are regarded for atoms and molecules. Numerical estimates of this effect for atomic and molecular gases in the whole range of Knudsen numbers are given.