Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas
Published on: April 3, 2018
Charging and Mobilization of Dust Particles on a Surface in Plasma
José H Pagán Muñoz1,2, Xu Wang1,2, Mihály Horányi1,2
1NASA SSERVI's Institute for Modeling Plasma, Atmospheres and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT), <a href="https://ror.org/02ttsq026">University of Colorado, Boulder</a>, Colorado 80303, USA.
Abstract:
We present first experimental results showing that single dust particles on a dielectric surface are mobilized and lofted due to exposure to an electron beam or ultraviolet radiation. It is shown that secondary electrons and/or photoelectrons emitted from a substrate surface are recollected on the surfaces within microcavities between a dust particle and the substrate surface, resulting in large negative charges and subsequently causing mobilization of the dust particle due to Coulomb repulsion. Dust mobility tested against the electron beam energy is shown to follow the secondary electron yield curve of the substrate surface in both the experimental and modeling results. The results verified the role of emitted electrons from the substrate surface in charging and mobilization of single dust particles.
Related Concept Videos
Charging Conductors By Induction
Generally, conductors like metals do not allow any excess charge to be present on them. Any excess charge added to metals easily flows away, for example, when a metal is placed on the Earth. This process is called earthing.
However, conductors can be charged by a process called induction. For example, consider charging a...
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Principle
The ions and electrons produced interact with the fluctuating magnetic field created by a water-cooled...
Electric Field of a Charged Disk
The system's symmetry is in the cylindrical directions across the plane of the charge. As a result, the electric fields created by various surface charge elements nullify each other in the direction parallel to the surface. Thereby, the resulting electric field is perpendicular to the plane. Since the disk is...
Van de Graaff Generator
Van de Graaff uses both smooth and pointed surfaces, conductors, and insulators to generate large static charges and, hence, large voltages. A substantial excess charge can be deposited on the sphere because it moves...
Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

