Selected Results from Experiments on DPX

1. 3-D transport in a dust cloud
   
2. Dust cloud with a "gap"
   1. First image - inverted image of the dust cloud
   2. Second image - overlay of speed profile and velocity vectors (as measured using PIV)
      
3. 3-D structure of a dust cloud- a reconstruction from image data.
   
4. A large dust cloud

For additional details on these experiments, please contact us via this LINK.

• 1999 Results

  Status: December, 1999

• DPX is shut down in early December in preparation for the move to Auburn University.
• Several new results were presented at the APS-Div. of Plasma Physics meeting in Nov., 1999
  • Overview of results from Fall, 1999 experiments.
  • First complete 3-D mapping of dust cloud structures in DPX device. (LINK to be added soon!)
  • Preliminary model of 3-D transport of dust particles is presented.

  Status: July, 1999

• The DPX device has performed almost perfectly over the past 6 months. We are able to generate dusty plasmas of 40 µm silica particles without any major difficulty.
• The PIV system has also performed very well during this time. To date, we have obtained almost 6 GB of experimental data from the PIV system. We have identified a number of different modes of behavior of the dust particles in the plasma:
  • "local" transport mode - in which the particles within the cloud have a complex motion (e.g., vortices, bands, etc.), but the boundaries of the cloud are fixed in space.
  • "global" transport mode - in which the entire cloud is translating in space (at times with an oscillatory behavior).
• Over the next several months (August - November, 1998), experiments will focus on several major areas:
  • 3-D structures and transport in the dust clouds
  • Particle transport in the vicinity of dust acoustic waves
  • Impact of natural and applied pertubations on dust clouds

  Status: January, 1999 (and Results, 1998)

• December, 1998 - March, 1999 - Continued optimization of the PIV system. Change to smaller particle size (3 micron alumina). Comparison of initial transport results using 3 micron vs. 40 micron particles.
• November, 1998 - Presented first results of PIV measurements at APS-Div. of Plasma Physics meeting.
• October, 1998 - Installation of PIV system.
• August - October, 1998 - Dusty plasmas produced in DPX device using 40 µm silica particles.
• August, 1998 - FIRST PLASMA