  The effects of friction on the ion acoustic (IA) wave in fully and partially
ionized plasmas are studied. In a quasi-neutral electron-ion plasma the
friction between the two species cancels out exactly and the wave propagates
without any damping. If the Poisson equation is used instead of the
quasi-neutrality, however, the IA wave is damped and the damping is dispersive.
In a partially ionized plasma, the collisions with the neutrals modify the IA
wave beyond recognition. For a low density of neutrals the mode is damped. Upon
increasing the neutral density, the mode becomes first evanescent and then
reappears for a still larger number of neutrals. A similar behavior is obtained
by varying the mode wave-length. The explanation for this behavior is given. In
an inhomogeneous plasma placed in an external magnetic field, and for
magnetized electrons and un-magnetized ions, the IA mode propagates in any
direction and in this case the collisions make it growing on the account of the
energy stored in the density gradient. The growth rate is angle dependent. A
comparison with the collision-less kinetic density gradient driven IA
instability is also given.
