Electron Den sities from Stark Widths of the HeI 5016 Å and HeI 3889 Å Lines and Helium - Neon Laser Interferometry

Measurements of the neutral helium line widths were made in a high pressure electric shock tube plasma of electron density ~ 1 X 10 17cm-3 and temperature ~ 1.5 eV. The measured half-widths are in ~10% agreement with the calculated widths based on GBKO theory. Electron densities were independently determined using a He-Ne laser interferometer. A factor ~ 1.7 discrepancy between measured and calculated Stark widths (or electron densities) reported by Kusch and recently by Einfeld and Sauerbrey could not be confirmed.