Preservation of a Dust Crystal as it Falls in an Afterglow Plasma

Abstract

In an experiment, the power that sustains a plasma was extinguished, so that microspheres, which had been levitated, fell downward toward a lower electrode. At the beginning of their fall, the microspheres were self-organized with a crystalline structure. This structure was found to be preserved as the microspheres accelerated all the way to the lower electrode. Although microspheres had, in this afterglow plasma, large positive charges of 12,500 e, their interparticle repulsion was unable to significantly alter the crystalline arrangement of the microspheres, as they fell. After their impact on the lower electrode, the microspheres bounced upward, and only then was the crystalline structure lost.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 20, 2022
Source ID
10.3389/fphy.2022.879092

Entities

People

  • J. Goree
  • Neeraj Chaubey

Organizations

  • Army Research Office

Tags

Readers

  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.