scholarly journals Measurement of Dust Electric Charges by the Ulysses and Galileo Dust Detectors

1996 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 481-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Svestka ◽  
S. Auer ◽  
M. Baguhl ◽  
E. Grün

The Galileo and Ulysses dust detectors can detect electric charges of dust particles. Dust particles entering the sensor (see, e.g., Grün et al. 1992) may be detected by the charge Qp that they induce to the charge grid. All suitably massive dust particles - charged or uncharged - are then detected by the cloud of ions and electrons they produce during the impact on the hemispherical target after the time of flight between the charge grid and the target. After separation in the electric field, ions and electrons are collected by separate electrodes and produce two pulses of opposite polarity. From the two pulse heights and the rise times, the mass and impact speed of the dust particle are derived.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Pavlů ◽  
Samuel Kočiščák ◽  
Åshild Fredriksen ◽  
Michael DeLuca ◽  
Zoltan Sternovsky

<p>We experimentally observe both positive and negative charge carriers in impact plasma and estimate their effective temperatures. The measurements are carried on a dust accelerator using polypyrrole (PPy)-coated olivine dust particles impacting tungsten (W) target in the velocity range of 2–18 km/s. We measure the retained impact charge as a function of applied bias potential to the control grid. The temperatures are estimated from the data fit. The estimated effective temperatures of the positive ions are approximately 7 eV and seems to be independent of the impact speed. The negative charge carriers' temperatures vary from as low as 1 eV for the lowest speeds to almost ten times higher speeds. The presented values differ significantly from previous studies using Fe dust particles. Yet, the discrepancy can be attributed to a larger fraction of negative ions in the impact plasma that likely originates from the PPy coating.</p>


1971 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 299-310
Author(s):  
J. F. Friichtenicht ◽  
N. L. Roy ◽  
D. G. Becker

Determination of the elemental composition of cosmic dust particles by means of an impact ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been investigated at several institutions. In most configurations, the instrument supplies the identity of ion groups of both target and particle materials extracted from the impact plasma and the number of ions contained in each group. Experiments have shown that the fractional ionization of a given species is not constant with impact velocity nor is the fractional ionization the same for different kinds of atoms. A model of the impact ionization effect developed at TRW involves an equilibrium plasma condition with the consequence that the fractional ionization for an arbitrary atomic species can be specified by the Saha equation if the plasma volume (V) and temperature (T) are known. It follows that T can be determined by taking the ratio of the Saha equations for two elements present in the target in known concentration. (Taking the ratio negates the requirement of knowing V.) Given T, the procedure can be reversed to yield the relative abundance of elements contained in the impacting particle. To test the model, a PbZrO3-PbTiO3 target was bombarded with high velocity Fe, MoB, and NiAl particles and the number of Pb, Ti, and Zr ions was determined in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. For each event, the relative abundance of Ti to Pb was taken as known (from electron microprobe analysis) and T was determined from the Ti-Pb measurement. The Zr to Pb ratio was found to be in good agreement with the microprobe analysis (0.38 calculated mean value compared to 0.34 actual). The result was valid for all particle materials and for a velocity range 17<v<47 km/s. T ranged from 3300 to 11 500° K and was only mildly velocity dependent.


The charges separated by splashes on solid and wetted surfaces are shown to be carried on the liquid fragments ejected from the crown. Experimental observations on the nature of these splashes are presented and mechanisms for the formation and break-up of the crown are proposed. The surface on which a splash occurs is generally left with a positive charge, the magnitude of which decreases with increasing concentration of solute in the drop. This is explained by the disruption of the electrical double layer. When drops containing ammonium hydroxide in excess of 2.5 x 10-5 mol 1_1 splash on ice at — 1 °C the ice receives a positive charge. In this case, freezing potentials appear to play a role in the charging. In an applied electric field the charges separated by splashing increase as the field is increased, in agreement with an induction mechanism of charging. Also, in an applied electric field, the charges initially increase as the impact speed is increased but beyond a certain impact speed the charges decrease. This is explained in terms of the relative magnitudes of the time of contact of the ejected liquid fragments with the crown and the relaxation time of charge carriers in the liquid. The role of charge separation due to splashing in thunderstorm electrification and in the build-up of space charges during rainfall is discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sotirios A. Mallios ◽  
Georgios Papangelis ◽  
George Hloupis ◽  
Athanasios Papaioannou ◽  
Vasiliki Daskalopoulou ◽  
...  

The attachment of positive and negative ions to settling spherical dust particles is studied. A novel 1D numerical model has been developed to parameterize the charging process in the presence of a large-scale electric field. The model is able to self-consistently calculate the modification of atmospheric ion densities in the presence of the dust particles, and the consequent alteration of the atmospheric electrical conductivity and the large-scale electric field. Moreover, the model estimates the acquired electrical charge on the dust particles and calculates the electrical force that is applied on them. Using observed dust size distributions, we find that the particles can acquire electrical charge in the range of 1–1,000 elementary charges depending on their size and number density. The particles become mainly negatively charged, but under specific conditions giant mode particles (larger than 50 μm radius) can be positive. Moreover, the large-scale electric field can increase up to 20 times as much as the fair weather value. However, our approach shows that the resultant electrical force is not enough to significantly influence their gravitational settling, as the ratio between the electrical force magnitude and the gravity magnitude does not exceed the value of 0.01. This indicates that the process of ion attachment alone is not sufficient to create strong electrical effects for the modification of particle dynamics. Therefore, other processes, such as the triboelectric effect and updrafts, must be included in the model to fully represent the impact of electricity on particle dynamics.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 5051-5090 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Crumeyrolle ◽  
P. Tulet ◽  
L. Garcia-Carreras ◽  
C. Flamant ◽  
D. J. Parker ◽  
...  

Abstract. Aerosol properties were measured during an airborne campaign experiment that took place in June 2006 in West Africa within the framework of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA). The goal of the present study was to determine the process that facilitates the sedimentation of dust particles from the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) to the boundary layer. A significant change in the dust particle concentration measured along the meridian between Niamey (Niger) and Cotonou (Benin) was found in the boundary layer (~700 m), where the dust particle concentration increased in a zone where local emission is not possible. Moreover, the boundary layer top observed with the dropsondes launched with the F-F20 shows a strong relationship with the surface cover anomalies, with higher Boundary Layer (BL) tops over the warmer surfaces, such as croplands, as opposed to adjacent forest. A mesoscale atmospheric model with a new on-line dust parameterization, resulting from the Alfaro and Gomes (2001) parametrisation and AMMA observations, was used to interpret the impact of vegetation anomalies on dust particle sedimentation. The results of the simulation are consistent with the observations, with higher dust over the warm surface cover anomalies.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Crumeyrolle ◽  
P. Tulet ◽  
L. Gomes ◽  
L. Garcia-Carreras ◽  
C. Flamant ◽  
...  

Abstract. Aerosol properties were measured during an airborne campaign experiment that took place in June 2006 in West Africa within the framework of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA). The goal of the present study was to investigate a dynamical mechanism able to facilitate the sedimentation of dust particles from the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) into the boundary layer. A significant change in the dust particle concentration measured along the meridian between Niamey (Niger) and Cotonou (Benin) was found in the boundary layer (~700 m), where the dust particle concentration increased in a zone where local emission is not possible. Moreover, the boundary layer top observed with the dropsondes launched with the F-F20 shows a strong relationship with the surface cover anomalies, with higher Boundary Layer (BL) tops over the warmer surfaces, such as croplands, as opposed to adjacent forest. A mesoscale atmospheric model with a new on-line dust parameterization, resulting from the Alfaro and Gomes (2001) parametrisation and AMMA observations, was used to interpret the impact of vegetation anomalies on dust particle sedimentation. The results of the simulation are consistent with the observations, with higher dust concentration over the warm surface cover anomalies.


1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Steel

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Wang ◽  
Hui Xie ◽  
Zhiming Hu ◽  
Chao Liu

In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to study the coupling effect of electric field strength and surface wettability on the condensation process of water vapor. Our results show that an electric field can rotate water molecules upward and restrict condensation. Formed clusters are stretched to become columns above the threshold strength of the field, causing the condensation rate to drop quickly. The enhancement of surface attraction force boosts the rearrangement of water molecules adjacent to the surface and exaggerates the threshold value for shape transformation. In addition, the contact area between clusters and the surface increases with increasing amounts of surface attraction force, which raises the condensation efficiency. Thus, the condensation rate of water vapor on a surface under an electric field is determined by competition between intermolecular forces from the electric field and the surface.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Mariola Jabłońska ◽  
Janusz Janeczek ◽  
Beata Smieja-Król

For the first time, it is shown that inhaled ambient air-dust particles settled in the human lower respiratory tract induce lung calcification. Chemical and mineral compositions of pulmonary calcium precipitates in the lung right lower-lobe (RLL) tissues of 12 individuals who lived in the Upper Silesia conurbation in Poland and who had died from causes not related to a lung disorder were determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Whereas calcium salts in lungs are usually reported as phosphates, calcium salts precipitated in the studied RLL tissue were almost exclusively carbonates, specifically Mg-calcite and calcite. These constituted 37% of the 1652 mineral particles examined. Mg-calcite predominated in the submicrometer size range, with a MgCO3 content up to 50 mol %. Magnesium plays a significant role in lung mineralization, a fact so far overlooked. The calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite) content in the studied RLL tissue was negligible. The predominance of carbonates is explained by the increased CO2 fugacity in the RLL. Carbonates enveloped inhaled mineral-dust particles, including uranium-bearing oxides, quartz, aluminosilicates, and metal sulfides. Three possible pathways for the carbonates precipitation on the dust particles are postulated: (1) precipitation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), followed by its transformation to calcite; (2) precipitation of Mg-ACC, followed by its transformation to Mg-calcite; (3) precipitation of Mg-free ACC, causing a localized relative enrichment in Mg ions and subsequent heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth of Mg-calcite. The actual number of inhaled dust particles may be significantly greater than was observed because of the masking effect of the carbonate coatings. There is no simple correlation between smoking habit and lung calcification.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2335
Author(s):  
Gabriella Pinto ◽  
Sabrina De Pascale ◽  
Maria Aponte ◽  
Andrea Scaloni ◽  
Francesco Addeo ◽  
...  

Plant polyphenols have beneficial antioxidant effects on human health; practices aimed at preserving their content in foods and/or reusing food by-products are encouraged. The impact of the traditional practice of the water curing procedure of chestnuts, which prevents insect/mould damage during storage, was studied to assess the release of polyphenols from the fruit. Metabolites extracted from pericarp and integument tissues or released in the medium from the water curing process were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and electrospray-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (ESI-qTOF-MS). This identified: (i) condensed and hydrolyzable tannins made of (epi)catechin (procyanidins) and acid ellagic units in pericarp tissues; (ii) polyphenols made of gallocatechin and catechin units condensed with gallate (prodelphinidins) in integument counterparts; (iii) metabolites resembling those reported above in the wastewater from the chestnut curing process. Comparative experiments were also performed on aqueous media recovered from fruits treated with processes involving: (i) tap water; (ii) tap water containing an antifungal Lb. pentosus strain; (iii) wastewater from a previous curing treatment. These analyses indicated that the former treatment determines a 6–7-fold higher release of polyphenols in the curing water with respect to the other ones. This event has a negative impact on the luster of treated fruits but qualifies the corresponding wastes as a source of antioxidants. Such a phenomenon does not occur in wastewater from the other curing processes, where the release of polyphenols was reduced, thus preserving the chestnut’s appearance. Polyphenol profiling measurements demonstrated that bacterial presence in water hampered the release of pericarp metabolites. This study provides a rationale to traditional processing practices on fruit appearance and qualifies the corresponding wastes as a source of bioactive compounds for other nutraceutical applications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document