Sensitized Fluorescence in Vapors of Alkali Metals: I. Energy Transfer in Potassium–potassium Collisions

Sensitized fluorescence in potassium vapor at pressures between 10−5 mm Hg and 10−1 mm Hg was investigated to determine the cross sections for collisions of the second kind between unexcited and excited potassium atoms. An idealized fluorescence tube was used in the experiment and the fluorescent light was analyzed with a photoelectric recording spectrometer. The collision cross sections at low vapor pressures, where imprisonment of radiation is absent, are identical for both the 42P1/2 → 42P3/2 and 42P1/2 ← 42P3/2 transitions and equal 6.6 × 10−12 cm2 at 2 × 10−4 mm Hg. The experimental results are interpreted on the basis of new selection rules for sensitized fluorescence.