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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas
Published on: April 3, 2018
Charged dust phenomena in the near-Earth space environment
1Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
None:
Dusty (or complex) plasmas in the Earth's middle and upper atmosphere ultimately result in exotic phenomena that are currently forefront research issues in the space science community. This paper presents some of the basic criteria and fundamental physical processes associated with the creation, evolution and dynamics of dusty plasmas in the near-Earth space environment. Recent remote sensing techniques to probe naturally created dusty plasma regions are also discussed. These include ground-based experiments employing high-power radio wave interaction. Some characteristics of the dusty plasmas that are actively produced by space-borne aerosol release experiments are discussed. Basic models that may be used to investigate the characteristics of such dusty plasma regions are presented.
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