EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC-FIELDS ON THERMAL-CONVECTION IN GASES

Extensive measurements of the coefficient of electroconvective heat tr ansfer have been carried out in gases: air, Ar, N2, O2, freon-12 and f reon-22, using a single platinum wire mounted along the axis of a copp er cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder was 53 mm, while that of the wire was 0.025 mm. Electroconvective heat transfer coefficients have been measured as a function of electric field, pressure, orientation a nd frequency of the applied electric field in the earth's gravitationa l field. The results reveal a complicated interaction between the elec tric-field gradient and thermal convection. The present work indicates that the Senftleben mechanism alone cannot account for the observed p henomena.