Electron-beam diagnostics of impulse rarefied gas jets

An electron-beam method for studying the local density of impulse jets ejec ted from a supersonic nozzle into vacuum for several seconds is developed. The method is based on a linear dependence of the intensity of bremsstrahlu ng excited by fast electrons in a gas on the atomic concentration in the ga s. The radiation intensity is evaluated as a function of the temporal resol ving power. The measurement scheme and results of studying transverse densi ty profiles in a supersonic impulse jet are presented.