[1] Some of the secrets of the atmosphere of Titan have been unveiled by the Huygens Probe. The Permitivity Wave and Altimetry system detected a hidden ionosphere much below the main ionosphere, that lies between 600 and 2000 km. Theoretical models predicted a low altitude ionosphere produced by cosmic rays that, contrary to magnetospheric particles and UV photons, are able to penetrate down in the atmosphere. Two sensors: Mutual Impedance (MI) and Relaxation Probe (RP) measured the conductivity of the ionosphere by two different methods and were able to discriminate the two branches of electrical conductivity due to the positive and negative charges.
In the theory of electrostatic probes, it is usually assumed that the probe surface potential is uniform. However, nonuniformity of the surface work function produces a nonuniformity in surface potential which may modify the current collection. This effect is examined for an infinite cylinder immersed in a collisionless plasma in the limit when Debye length is much greater than probe radius, by numerically following charged‐particle orbits in a Laplace potential. It is shown that only large‐scale, macroscopic potential nonuniformities are important for the current collection, and that microscopic nonuniformities are smoothed over relatively short distance by the Laplace equation character of the potential.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.