Komplexe Plasmen sind Niedertemperaturplasmen, die Mikropartikel enthalten, die auch als Staub bezeichnet werden. Bei Experimenten unter dem Einfluss eines elektrischen Feldes wird häufig beobachtet, dass der Staub lange Ketten bildet, sogenannte „String‐Like Clusters“ (SLCs). Experimente auf der Internationalen Raumstation und Simulationen zeigen, dass diese Ketten auch dann entstehen können, wenn keine Anziehung zwischen den Mikropartikeln vorliegt.
Microparticles immersed in a low-temperature plasma acquire strong negative charges and thus repel each other. Nevertheless, effective attraction between the microparticles in such a complex plasma can occur due to the interplay between the fluxes of plasma ions and the microparticles. Here, we report the observation of droplets formed in a complex plasma during a parabolic flight, and explain their formation in terms of the ion drag force that sustains the droplet. We have found a good agreement between the experimentally determined droplet size and its theoretical estimate using the ion drag force mechanism. Lower values of the electron temperature result in better agreement, as is consistent with the pulsed mechanism of discharge used experimentally.
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