A New Parameter Regime for Dust in Plasma: the Case of Dense and Supersonic Plasma Flows
- National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Bucharest (Romania)
- Los Alamos National laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
The co-existence between charged micron-size particulates of matter and plasma electrons and ions can lead to interesting physics phenomena. Some of the most spectacular observations in laboratory low ionized gases include the formation of aligned dust structures, the propagation of dust waves or self-organization leading to dust voids. Here, the dust dynamics is established by the forces of gravity, of electrostatic interaction with electric fields within the plasma, of friction with the neutral gas, and by the Coulomb repulsion between grains. Measurements of dust trajectories have been carried out in situ when the plasma density is about 6-7 orders of magnitude higher than in typical laboratory dusty plasmas, i.e. {approx}10{sup 22} m{sup -3}, and the ion temperature is a few eV. The plasma flows at speeds of the order of 20-60 km/s. Two observed features characterize dust in this new plasma regime: the plasma drag force dominates over all other forces acting on the grains and the microparticles are heated to temperatures sufficiently high, to become self-illuminated. Simultaneous observation at different moments in time of up to a few hundred flying dust grains has been possible due to the timing capabilities of a high-speed camera equipped with a telephoto lens. Dust speed of a few km/s and accelerations of {approx}10{sup 5}-10{sup 6} m/s{sup 2} have been inferred using the time-of-flight technique. Among the applications of hypervelocity dust are local diagnostics performed on hot plasmas, interstellar propulsion or simulation of meteorite impacts.
- OSTI ID:
- 21251318
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1041, Issue 1; Conference: 5. international conference on the physics of dusty plasmas, Ponta Degada, Azores (Portugal), 18-23 May 2008; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2997275; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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