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Electron traveling in air

  1. May 30, 2012 #1
    I'd like to calculate the likeliness of an electron jumping a gap of 100 to 200 nm. I have a source emitting electrons, the potential is 10 - 20 V. What is the proper way of calculate this?

    [itex]\displaystyle N = N_0 e ^{-???}[/itex] where [itex]N_0[/itex] is the amount of emitted electrons. If I use this way, how do I determine the speed of the decline, in other words the exponent in the forumla?
  2. jcsd
  3. May 30, 2012 #2


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    You may want to look up the mean free path of an electron in a STP air.

    Note that the mean free path may also be dependent on the energy of the electrons.


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