process Na(2
+ Na (2
Na (2
) + Na (2
= 17.2 cm-1have been measured following direct excitation of specific2
levels with a pulsed tunable dye laser of 10-2-Å linewidth and 5-ns duration. The cross sections for the forward and backward reactions at 272°C have been found by Pitre and Krause to be 250 ± 40 and 480 ± 80 Å, respectively.