Journal article
Observation of dust shedding from material bodies in a plasma
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol.97(A3), pp.2935-2942
03/01/1992
DOI: 10.1029/91JA02801
Abstract
Exposure to a space plasma can cause a dusty body, such as a spacecraft or a boulder in Saturn's rings, to release dust into its environment. This is demonstrated in a laboratory experiment with an aluminum sphere covered with micrometer‐sized dust grains. The sphere was rotating and electrically floating like an object in space. Laser light scattering was used to detect dust falling from the body. When a low‐temperature nitrogen plasma was turned on, rapid dust shedding was observed, and when it was turned off, the shedding stopped. The rate of shedding increases with plasma density. The dust is not all released the instant the plasma is turned on but rather takes place over an extended period of time, with individual grains jumping off at random intervals with a certain probability per unit time.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Observation of dust shedding from material bodies in a plasma
- Creators
- T. E SheridanJ GoreeY. T ChiuR. L RairdenJ. A Kiessling
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol.97(A3), pp.2935-2942
- DOI
- 10.1029/91JA02801
- ISSN
- 0148-0227
- eISSN
- 2156-2202
- Number of pages
- 8
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/01/1992
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy; Mechanical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984199937902771
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