A study of the properties of hydrogen films on tungsten by the method of contact potentials

Abstract

In a study of the properties of hydrogen on tungsten by the method of contact potentials the following points have been established:(1) The contact potential of a 92% covered surface of hydrogen on tungsten against bare tungsten is 1·04 V., and the Richardson constants for such a surface are, approximately,A = 30, b = 5·60 V.(2) A film of deuterium is 20 m V. positive relative to a similar hydrogen film.(3) Over the range of temperatures and pressures used by Bryce in a study of the production of atomic hydrogen the films are nearly saturated, so that the production of atomic hydrogen is primarily due to a molecule striking a bare tungsten atom, one atom being adsorbed and the other going into the gas phase.(4)The condensation coefficient for hydrogen molecules on cold tungsten is 0·01.(5) The effective dipole moment of each hydrogen atom on the surface is −0·42 Debye unit and is independent of the fraction of the surface covered.