Coalescence of complex plasma clouds

Abstract

Observations, taken in an experiment performed under microgravity conditions with the PKE-Nefedov Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), show that two colliding complex plasma clouds 'sense' each other long before they touch. The plasma clouds get deformed, the surfaces flatten and the approach velocity reduces with decreasing gap width until - at the point of coalescence - it becomes zero. This behaviour suggests the existence of a plasma sheath surrounding such a complex plasma cloud. Using a simple dynamical model the complex plasma properties are estimated. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.