A mechanical-and-kinetic effect in a weakly ionized low-pressure plasma

A new mechanical-and-kinetic effect is revealed under conditions of interaction between ions of a weakly ionized plasma of a low-pressure discharge and the surface of a solid. The effect consists in that a plate placed in the plasma (on condition that a coating is applied to the plate) is acted upon by a force proportional to the difference between the probabilities of elastic reflection of ions from its surfaces. The revealed effect may be used for measuring this difference.