2004/11/02 by M. H. Thoma, Markus H. Thoma, Thoma, M. H. +23
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Dust and Plasma Wave Phenomena #Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma #Plasma Diagnostics and Applications #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0411021
9 pages, 2 figures, contribution to the International Conference "Dusty Plasmas in Application" (Odessa, Ukraine, August 25-28, 2004), to be published in Ukranian J. Phys
arxiv created 2004/11/02 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
The force on a microparticle in a complex plasma by streaming ions, the so-called ion drag force, is not well known. However, it is important for the understanding of interesting phenomena in complex plasmas such as the void formation under microgravity conditions. The PK-4 experiment, which is developed for a later use on board of the International Space Station, is ideally suited for investigating this problem. In this experiment a complex DC-plasma is created in a glass tube in which the microparticles flow from the cathode to the anode. Measuring the microparticle velocities, the forces on the particles for different particle sizes, pressures, and DC-currents can be extracted by assuming force balance. Experiments have been performed in the laboratory as well as under microgravity using parabolic flights. The results of these experiments will be presented and compared to theoretical predictions.