ABSTRACT

N um erous types o f e lec tron beam s em ploy a w ide range o f cu rren ts and energies, includ ing h igh -cu rren t re la tiv istic e lec tron beam s. T hese are found in app lications rang ing from in itia tion o f super-pow erfu l gas lasers and con tro lled therm onuclear reactions to p rocesses o f surface treatm en t and depo llu tion o f h igh-vo lum e exhaust s tream s.551 G eneral p roperties o f e lec tron beam s and the ir p ropagation and d eg ra­ dation w ill be d iscussed in the first tw o sec tions o f this chapter. T he fo llow ing tw o sections w ill be devo ted to special d ischarges susta ined by e lec tron beam s at low and h igh p ressu res. T he tw o final sections w ill deal w ith p lasm a generation by nuclea r debris and e lec tron beam in teraction w ith aerosols.