A magnetically confined thermal electric arc gas heater of easy constr
uction, handling, and maintenance has been designed, built, and tested
as a suitable source of heat for dissociating hydrogen molecules. The
plasma species in the gas discharge region are assumed to satisfy loc
al thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The average beam kinetic ener
gy is determined to be 1.5 eV, leading to an arc temperature of approx
imately 8700 K; the dissociation rate is 0.5 atoms per molecule and th
e total atom beam intensity in the forward direction is 10(18) atoms/s
r s. This novel atom source has been successfully ignited and operated
with pure hydrogen during several hours of continuous performance, ma
intaining its characteristics and overcoming some of the difficulties
previously found by researchers using other arc sources. The hyperther
mal hydrogen atom beam obtained from this source is identified by MoO3
chemical detectors, and analyzed and characterized by three different
calorimetric sensors, Ni, Ta, and Teflon. The experimental results ob
tained with this dissociator agree with those published in the literat
ure.