Plasma temperature determination from the maximum intensity of a symmetric self-reversed line

The temperature of a high-pressure gas discharge is determined from the line intensity at the self-reversal maximum of a symmetric self-reversed spectral line, the depth of the valley at the centre of the line and the distance between self-reversal maxima, on the basis of the Cowan and Dieke model (1948). This procedure takes account of the actual inhomogeneity of the plasma structure. A comparison is made with Bartels' method (1950).