ARISE: A granular matter experiment on the International Space Station

Abstract

We developed an experiment to study different aspects of granular matter under microgravity. The 1.5U small experiment was carried out on the International Space Station. About 3500 almost identical spherical glass particles with 856 µm diameter were placed in a container of 50 by 50 mm cross section. Adjusting the height between 5 and 50 mm, the filling factor can be varied. The sample was vibrated with different frequencies and amplitudes. The majority of the data are video images of the particles' motion. Here, we give a first overview of the general setup and a first qualitative account of different phenomena observed in about 700 experiment runs. These phenomena include collisional cooling, collective motion via gas-cluster coupling, and the influence of electrostatic forces on particle-particle interactions.

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