Experimental demonstration of plasma-drag acceleration of a dust cloud to hypervelocities

Phys Rev Lett. 2008 Apr 18;100(15):155002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.155002. Epub 2008 Apr 17.

Abstract

Simultaneous acceleration of hundreds of dust particles to hypervelocities by collimated plasma flows ejected from a coaxial gun is demonstrated. Graphite and diamond grains with radii between 5 and 30 microm, and flying at speeds up to 3.7 km/s, have been recorded with a high-speed camera. The observations agree well with a model for plasma-drag acceleration of microparticles much larger than the plasma screening length.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.