Formation of a boundary-free dust cluster in a low-pressure gas-discharge plasma.
An attraction between negatively charged micron-sized plastic particles was observed in the bulk of a low-pressure gas-discharge plasma under microgravity conditions. This attraction had led to the formation of a boundary-free dust cluster, containing one big central particle with a radius of about 6 microm and about 30 1 microm-sized particles situated on a sphere with a radius of 190 microm and with the big particle in the center. The stability of this boundary-free dust cluster was possible due to its confinement by the plasma flux on the central dust particle.
Usachev
A D
AD
Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 125412, Russia. usachev@ihed.ras.ru
Zobnin
A V
AV
Petrov
O F
OF
Fortov
V E
VE
Annaratone
B M
BM
Thoma
M H
MH
Höfner
H
H
Kretschmer
M
M
Fink
M
M
Morfill
G E
GE