SUNSPOTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED SOLAR ACTIVITIES I. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A WHITE LIGHT FLARE

An attempt has been made to analyze time series of $H_\alpha,\;H_\beta,\;and\; H_\gamma$ line profiles taken from a 3B/X6.1 flare which occurred on Oct. 27, 1991 in an active region, NOAA 6891. A total of 22 sets of $H_\alpha,\;H_\beta,\;and\; H_\gamma$ taken with a low and non-uniform time resolution of 10-40 seconds were scanned by PDS with absolute intensity calibration to derive the physical characteristics of the material in the flare chromosphere. Our . results are as follows: (1) The lower Balmer lines observed during the flare activity are broadened by Stark effect. (2) At the peak of the flare activity, the electron temperature of the Balmer line emitting region reaches up to 35000K and its geometrical thickness increases to a scale of $10^4km$, suggesting that high energy particles penetrate deep into the photospheric level.