Optical radiation of C60 fullerenes in the gas phase was observed. The observed emission line λ=258 nm is identified with an electronic transition into the ground state h g →h u in C60.
A new similarity law for the discharge plasma in gas mixtures has been obtained-its main feature being the smaller number of independent external parameters which are necessary to describe the plasma in question. This law is proposed for use in plasma research and some examples of such an application are presented.