OPTICAL ORIENTATION EFFECTS ON THE ATOM-DIMER EQUILIBRIUM COMPOSITIONOF LITHIUM VAPOR

A shift in the equilibrium distribution between reactants and products in the vapor phase chemical reaction Li-6 + Li-7 half arrow right ove r half arrow left Li-7 is caused by the optical orientation of atomic Li spin angular momenta and is shown to be controlled by the degree of atomic orientation. The observations were carried out in a heat-pipe cell operated at 631 K and containing a He buffer gas density of 3.1 x 10(18) cm-3. The shift is similar to that measured for the ortho mole cular components in the 2 Li-6 half arrow right over half arrow left L i-6(2) and 2 Li-7 half arrow right over half arrow left Li-7(2) gas ph ase equilibrium reactions.