Figure 2 presents the experimentally obtained val
ues for the average charge of N ions with respect to dif
ferent values of the initial charge, i0, in dependence on
the thickness of the celluloid target [7, 8]. For ion
velocities of V = 8 × 108
cm/s and V = 12 × 108
cm/s, the
calculation results obtained using formulas (3) and (5)
are consistent with the experimental data for values of
α0 = 0.4 and k = 0.08. With decreasing velocity of the
ions, a noticeable deviation of the calculation results
from the experimental data for the charge fraction
with i0 = Z is observed, the deviation growing with the
decreasing velocity, V. This indicates a dependence of
coefficient α on i0 that is more complicated than (5).
Nevertheless, the proposed simple approximation can
be used when considering N ions with initial charges
of i0 = 2–5.
For practical purposes, understanding in which
cases the deviation of from is substantial and
requires assessment of the equilibrium thickness of the
target is important. Figure 3 shows calculations for the
equilibrium thickness of the celluloid film when N
ions pass through it at different velocities, V, in depen
dence on the initial ion charge. It should be noted that
the dependence of teq on i0, calculated on the basis of
(3) and (4), is symmetrical with respect to The
experimental data shown in Fig. 2 (a), however, point
to a slower establishing of the charge equilibrium for
an initial ion charge of i0 = Z. An increase in the teq of
carbon for ion fractions with i0 > was noted previ
ously in [9]. The calculations presented in Fig. 3
reflect this feature of teq with a more complicated
i