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Fine particle behaviors in a plasma conditions were investigated under microgravity conditions using drop experiment facility and parabolic flight. By static analysis of fine particle arrangement, radially aligned fine particles were observed under microgravity. From the dynamic behavior of a fine particle, an acceleration force in a plasma under microgravity was analyzed to be in the range of 10-17 N, which is much smaller than estimated value from ion drag and electrostatic forces in the range of 10-14 N. A new control method of fine particle behavior is shown. © 2005 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dusty (complex) plasma research project is going on with cooperation for the PK-3 plus flight module between scientific teams of Germany and Russia. Uniformities of plasmas and dust particle distributions are significant in the project and future works to understand physical phenomena in dust clouds. The present work shows dust particle distributions can be changed by modification of an electrode, implying changing plasma space potential profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgravity gives the complex (dusty) plasmas, where dust particles are embedded in complete charge neutral region of bulk plasma. The dust clouds as an uncompressed strongly coupled Coulomb system correspond to atomic model with several physical phenomena, crystallization, phase transition, and so on. As the phenomena tightly connect to plasma states, it is significant to understand plasma parameters such as electron density and temperature. The present work shows the electron density in the setup for microgravity experiments currently onboard on the International Space Station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]