The positive column of an argon discharge is investigated in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field using a triple electrostatic probe. A wide chamber with a magnetic field length to radius ratio of six is used. The existence of an instability is confirmed. The variation of the radial density distribution with magnetic field is observed to be in qualitative agreement with the theory of Holter and Johnson. In addition, the electron temperature is observed to increase with increasing magnetic field. Repeated experiments show that the instability does not always develop even when the magnetic field is increased to six times the theoretical value of the critical field. Under this condition the variation of the radial density distribution with magnetic field is observed to be in qualitative agreement with the results of Bickerton and von Engel.
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Ventrice et al. (1968) studied this question.