Ionize Hydrogen Gas: Can Heat Ionize It?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the ionization of hydrogen gas, specifically exploring whether heat can ionize hydrogen in a vacuum chamber and the conditions necessary for this process. Participants examine various methods of ionization, including thermal energy, electric fields, and other techniques.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions if heating hydrogen gas in a steel vacuum chamber can lead to ionization and plasma formation.
  • Another participant asserts that the steel will melt before reaching the necessary temperatures for ionization.
  • Several participants discuss the ionization energy of hydrogen (13.5 eV) and the Boltzmann constant, with requests for comparisons and calculations.
  • There is a mention of barrier-suppression ionization and the critical electric field required for ionization, suggesting that a DC field can modify the Coulombic potential.
  • One participant proposes that ionization can occur through electrical discharge in a vacuum, emphasizing the need for a non-conductive chamber to direct the charge through the gas.
  • Another participant suggests that, hypothetically, if a "magical" tank that does not melt existed, hydrogen could eventually be ionized by heat.
  • Various methods of ionization are proposed, including the use of RF waves, high voltage, and particle beams, with some debate about the effectiveness of RF waves for this purpose.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility of ionizing hydrogen gas through heat, the role of electric fields, and the practicality of various ionization methods. No consensus is reached on the best approach or the conditions required for ionization.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific energy values and concepts without resolving the mathematical comparisons or the implications of different ionization methods. The discussion includes assumptions about the properties of materials and the conditions under which ionization occurs.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying plasma physics, gas ionization processes, and the effects of temperature and electric fields on hydrogen gas.

evan manalu
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if I have vacuum chamber from steel then filled with hydrogen gas
and cook it like cooking soup
will the hydrogen ionized and become plasma?
can heat like that ionize hydrogen gas?
thanks..
 
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No, the steel will melt before you obtain temperatures high enough to ionize the hydrogen.
 
How heat to ionize hydrogen exactly?
 
This is really something you should be able to check with a simple Google search. Simply search for the ionization energy and compare to the Boltzmann constant.
 
Ionize energy hydrogen 13.5eV
And Boltzmann const 1.3806488 × 10-23 m2 kg s-2 K-1
Can you show me how to compare it..
Thanks before..
 
evan manalu said:
Ionize energy hydrogen 13.5eV
And Boltzmann const 1.3806488 × 10-23 m2 kg s-2 K-1
Can you show me how to compare it..
Thanks before..
Use the Boltzmann constant in units of eV/K. What is the SI unit of temperature?
 
celsius
 
How about volt?
How volt to ionize hydrogen with distance of electrode 10cm
Any equation to explain this?
 
evan manalu said:
How about volt?
Impractical as well, if you want to know why there is this so called barrier-suppression ionization where a DC field modifies the Coulombic potential so that one side is suppressed below the unperturbed ground state energy. For hydrogen atom the critical field required to realize barrier-suppression ionization is 3.2x1010 V/m from which you can calculate the voltage. A more feasible way is by electron impact ionization.
 
  • #10
evan manalu said:
celsius

Wrong. The SI unit of temperature is Kelvin.

eV is not Volt, it is electron Volts, i.e., a measure of energy defined as the energy gained by an electron under acceleration of a 1 V electric potential.
 
  • #11
evan manalu said:
if I have vacuum chamber from steel then filled with hydrogen gas
and cook it like cooking soup
will the hydrogen ionized and become plasma?
can heat like that ionize hydrogen gas?
thanks..
Since they sell Hydrogen gas discharge tubes,
http://www.fishersci.com/ecomm/servlet/itemdetail?storeId=10652&langId=-1&catalogId=29104&productId=11417015&distype=0&fromSearch=0&hasPromo=0
At the right level of vacuum, flowing a current through hydrogen should ionize it.
I don't think you could do this in a conductive chamber, but rather something
where you could direct the electrical charge through the gas.
 
  • #12
Without going into too much details, and just ignore "eV" for now, If you you cook hydrogen gas in a "magical" tank that will never melt, you will be able to ionize hydrogen gas eventually.
 
  • #13
ugenetic said:
Without going into too much details, and just ignore "eV" for now, If you you cook hydrogen gas in a "magical" tank that will never melt, you will be able to ionize hydrogen gas eventually.
How will you realize this magical tank?
 
  • #14
blue_leaf77 said:
How will you realize this magical tank?

My understanding only:
tank is only in our perception, an H2 that is going to be ionized only cares about the impact force of whatever particle/energy that is going to hit that h2. A hot surface of a tank, another hot gas, whatever really.
 
  • #15
You can use RF waves to ionize hydrogen, or you can use a high voltage to cause the atoms to break down, or you can use a particle beam to collide with the hydrogen gas.
 
  • #16
Radio Waves don't have what it takes to ionize hydrogen, can it?
 
  • #17
I think I shouldn't have said RF waves, but you can use radiofrequency driven capacitors to generate a plasma, and you can use microwaves to heat a gas to plasma temperatures.
 
  • #18
Khashishi said:
you can use a high voltage
Like how high?
 

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