Direct heating mechanism of a CO2–N2–He laser mixture in a nonself-sustained discharge

The results are given of experiments on determining the fraction of the energy going into direct heating of a CO₂–N₂–He laser mixture, under conditions which are typical for a nonself-sustained glow discharge, and a theoretical design analysis is given of the possible electron energy-loss channels leading to the direct heating. A new value is obtained for the cross section for excitation of the 01¹0 level of the CO₂ molecule by electron impact.