Electron Distribution Measurements in a Hot‐Electron, Mirror‐Contained Plasma

Electron distributions in the afterglow of a hot electron, mirror contained plasma are measured as a function of time by analysis of the bremsstrahlung spectra. The distributions are compared with those derived from a computer model which follows the cooling and scattering of electrons by ions and neutral molecules. It is found that although scattering off neutrals is an important process in cooling the electrons in this plasma, the major loss mechanism is scattering into the loss cone.