DIRECT PROBE MEASUREMENTS IN THE AURORAL IONOSPHERE.
Abstract
Analysis of vehicle potential measurements in a disturbed ionosphere has provided additional information on the rather difficult problem of plasma-vehicle interaction. The flight data from the Aerobee indicates that under certain conditions, there exists a rather strong correlation between vehicle potential and the ambient charge particle density. Minimum vehicle potentials (i.e., corrected for the induced effects from current collecting devices) exceeding 2 volts in the region of auroral activity suggests the presence of a high energy component in the electron energy distribution, > 1 eV. Although the vehicle sheath calculations were performed for ideal conditions, they never-the-less indicate that the presence of a high energy tail enhances the density dependence of the vehicle potential.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0650644
Entities
People
- Philip T. Huang
- Richard T. Bettinger
Organizations
- University of Maryland