Experimental levitation of dust grains in a plasma sheath

Details Experimental levitation of dust grains in a plasma sheath Experimental levitation of dust grains in a plasma sheath

Nov 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002jgra..107.1408s&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics), Volume 107, Issue A11, pp. SMP 37-1, CiteID 1408, DOI 10.1029/2002JA009347

Physics

Plasma Physics

15

Space Plasma Physics: Laboratory Studies, Space Plasma Physics: Experimental And Mathematical Techniques, Planetology: Solar System Objects: Dust, Planetology: Comets And Small Bodies: Dust

Scientific paper

Dust grains have been observed to levitate above the surface of the Moon and as spokes in Saturn's rings. In order to gain a better understanding of these observations, we have performed levitation experiments on dust grains in a low-density plasma. Plasma sheath potential profiles, measured by an emissive probe, are used to determine the spatial dependence of the electric force on a grain in the sheath. The observed levitation height agrees with the values calculated using orbital-motion-limited charging theory and force balance equations. Levitating grains were also exposed to an ultraviolet light source to induce photoemission. Three types of dust were investigated: polystyrene divinylbenzene microspheres 10.0 +/- 0.5 μm in diameter, glass microballoons <38 μm in diameter, and JSC-1 (lunar regolith simulant) <25 μm in diameter. Our experimental results show that (1) various types and sizes of grains can levitate in a plasma sheath above a conducting surface; (2) levitating grains of a standard size float at a height corresponding to that predicted by theory; (3) exposure to UV light causes the grain levitation height to decrease slightly as a result of less negative charge; and (4) a mechanism to inject grains into the sheath is not necessary if the electric field is sufficiently strong.

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