* by S. Naiditch
Electrical conductivities of sodium-ammonia solutions have been measured from -80 to +185 Ci i.e., most of the liquid range and some of the gaseous range. The objective of these studies is the exploration of the possibility of using such gaseous solutions as plasma sources. The attractive features of these gases Found in this study include plasma lifetimes in excess of 5,000 seconds (the plasmas boing at equilibrium), temperatures as low as 13^ C and electrical conductivities of at least 100 mhos/cm. Visual appearances of the dense gases are the same as those of the liquids. Gases with low concentrations of sodium are blue and ones with high concentrations arc yellow-red metallic copper gold. I I Electrical conductivities of the liquids increase with increasing temperature until conductivity maxima are reached at 80 to I000 C. In dilute solutions, the temperatures of these maxima are close to the solution critical temperatures; because of this, conductivities of supercritical gases have been measured that arc higher than the conductivities of the liquids of the same mole fractions at room temperature.
