Several problems which can determine non-equilibrium effects in laser-induc
ed breakdown plasmas are analyzed in this study. In particular, we focus ou
r attention on problems associated with the fluid dynamics of the expanding
plume, with time-dependent collisional-radiative models for describing the
population densities of excited states, with the time-dependent Boltzmann
equation for characterizing the electron energy distribution function in la
ser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) plasmas, The results show that th
ese problems should be carefully taken into account for developing a calibr
ation-free LIES methodology. Finally, problems associated with equilibrium
plasmas, and in particular the dependence of the partition function on the
particular environment surrounding the different components of a plasma are
discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.