The work presented here deals with the application of the theoretical model of the nonequilibrium discharge developed by one of us to a free‐burning discharge in argon subjected to a current impulse. The paper includes a description of the system of transport equations and a discussion of the boundary conditions and numerical solutions. The response to a 0.5‐mgr;s current ramp from 0.4 to 1.2 A is studied in detail. The variation of the basic parameters, such as the electron density, temperature, heat flux and diffusion velocity, the heavy‐particle temperature, and heat flux and the average mass velocity is shown as a function of time and space. Radial profiles of the initial and final states are shown to agree well with the results of the earlier steady‐state model.
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