"Plasma Crystal" and the secrets of the Universe. Experiment "Plasma Crystal" on the ISS was held with new equipment

24.09.2019

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Academician V. Fortov, Director of the Institute of Thermal Physics of Extreme States of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In April 2005, Academician Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov received a prestigious international award - the Gold Medal named after Albert Einstein, awarded to him for an outstanding contribution to the development of physical science and international scientific cooperation. The scientific interests of Academician Fortov lie in the field of physics of extreme substances, including plasma. If you do not count dark matter, the plasma is the most common state of the substance in nature: according to estimates, in this state there is about 95% of ordinary matter in the universe. Stars are plasma bunches, ionized gas with temperatures in tens and hundreds of millions of degrees. Plasma properties make up the basis of modern technologies, the scope of which is extensive. Plasma emits light in electrical lamps, creates a color image in plasma panels. Plasma reactors plasma flows are used for the production of microcircuits, hardening metals and cleaning surfaces. Plasma settings recycle waste and produce energy. Plasma physics is an actively developing area of \u200b\u200bscience, which to this day amazing discoveries are performed, unusual phenomena are observed, requiring understanding and explanations. One of the most interesting phenomena discovered in low-temperature plasma is the formation of a "plasma crystal", that is, a spatial-ordered structure from fine particles - plasma dust.

Science and life // illustration

Cosmonauts S. Krikalev and Y. Gyzenko Install the "Plasma Crystal" equipment for the ISS (2001).

What is a dust plasma?

The dust of the plasma is an ionized gas containing dust - particles of a solid. Such plasma is often found in space: in planetary rings, cottages of comet, interplanetary and interstellar clouds. It has been found near the artificial satellites of the Earth and in the trim area of \u200b\u200bthermonuclear plants with magnetic retention, as well as in plasma reactors, arcs, discharges.

In the laboratory conditions, the American Irving Langmür Irving Langmür received a dust plasma for the first time in the 20s of the last century. However, it was actively studying it only in the last decade. Increased interest in the properties of the dust plasma arose with the development of plasma spraying technologies and etching in microelectronics, as well as the production of thin films and nanoparticles. The presence of solid particles that fall into the plasma as a result of the destruction of the electrodes and the walls of the discharge chamber, not only leads to contamination of the surface of semiconductor chips, but also perturbates plasma, often unpredictable manner. To reduce or prevent these negative phenomena, it is necessary to figure out how the processes of formation and growth of condensed particles in the gas-discharge plasma are coming and as plasma dust affects the discharge properties.

Plasma Crystal

The dimensions of dust particles are relatively large - from the shares of the micron to several tens, sometimes hundreds of microns. Their charge may have an extremely large amount and exceed the electron charge in hundreds and even hundreds of thousands of times. As a result, the average Coulomb energy of the interaction of particles, proportional to the square of the charge, can be much superopened by their average thermal energy. It turns out the plasma, which is called sylnoneal, since its behavior is not subject to the laws of the ideal gas. (Recall that the plasma can be considered as perfect gas if the energy of the interaction of particles is much less than their thermal energy).

Theoretical calculations of the equilibrium properties of the dust plasma show that under certain conditions, the strong electrostatic interaction "takes the top" above the low thermal energy and causes the charged particles to line up in space in a certain way. A streamlined structure is formed, which received the name of the Coulomb or plasma crystal. Plasma crystals are similar to spatial structures in a liquid or solid. Phase transitions such as melting and evaporation can occur here.

If the dust plasma particles are large enough, the plasma crystal can be observed with a naked eye. In early experiments, the formation of crystalline structures was recorded in the system of charged particles of iron and aluminum micron sizes held by variables and static electric fields. In later works, the Coulomb crystallization of particulates in a weakly encouraged plasma of high-frequency discharge at low pressure was performed. The electron energy in such a plasma is somewhat electronolt (eV), and the energy of the ions is close to the thermal energy of atoms that have room temperature (~ 0.03 eV). This is due to the fact that electrons are more mobile and their stream directed to the neutral dust particle significantly exceeds the flow of ions. The particle "catches" electrons and begins to charge negatively. This accumulating negative charge in turn causes the repulsion of electrons and attraction of ions. The charge of the particle changes until the streams of electrons and ions on its surface are equal. In experiments with a high-frequency discharge, the charge of dust particles was negative and rather large (about 10 4 - 10 5 electronic charges). The cloud of charged dust particles depended near the surface of the lower electrode, since there was an equilibrium between gravitational and electrostatic forces. With the diameter of the cloud in several centimeters in the vertical direction, the number of particle layers was several tens, and the distance between the particles is several hundred micrometers.

Ordered structures in thermal plasma ...

At the Institute of Thermal Physics of Extreme States of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ITP RAS) since 1991 is studying a dust plasma and create a variety of methods for its diagnosis. The dust of the plasma of different types is studied: thermal plasma, gas-discharge plasma of smoldering and high-frequency discharges, photoemission and nuclear-excited plasma.

The thermal plasma formed in the flame of the gas burner at atmospheric pressure has a temperature of from 1700 to 2200 K, and the temperature of electrons, ions and neutral particles is equal in it. In the flow of such plasma, the behavior of cerium dioxide particles (CEO 2) was studied. The peculiarity of this substance is that electrons are quite easy to fly from its surface - the operation of an electron output is only about 2.75 eV. Therefore, dust particles are charged both by flows of electrons and plasma ions and due to thermoelectronic emission - emitting electrons with a heated particle, which creates a positive charge.

The spatial structures of the particulates were analyzed by laser radiation that gives the correlation function g (R), the meaning of which is as follows. If you fix the location in the space of one of the particles, the function shows the likelihood of finding any other particle at a distance r. from this. And this allows us to conclude about the spatial arrangement of particles - chaotic or ordered, characteristic of liquid and crystalline structures.

Typical correlation functions g (R) For CEO 2 particles in the aerosol jet at room temperature and plasma are represented on Ill. 1. At high plasma temperature (2170 K) and a low concentration of macro-masses (b), the correlation function has an almost the same form as for a jet of a conventional aerosol at room temperature (a). This means that the plasma particles interact weakly and the formation of ordered structures does not occur. At a lesser plasma temperature (1700 K) and a higher concentration of particles, the correlation function takes the form characteristic of a liquid: there is a pronounced maximum, which indicates the presence of a low order in the location of the particles (B). In this experiment, the positive charge of particles was about 1000 electron charges. A relatively weak orderliness of the structure can be explained by a small time of the plasma existence (about 20 thousandths of a second), for which the process of forming a plasma crystal does not have time to complete.

... and smoldering discharge

In thermal plasma, the temperature of all particles is the same, and in the plasma of the glowing gas discharge, the situation is different - the electronic temperature is much more ion. This creates prerequisites for the occurrence of ordered structures of dust plasma - plasma crystals.

In the glowing gas discharge under certain conditions there are standing stagnants - fixed zones of uneven luminosity, regularly alternating with dark intervals. The concentration of electrons and the electric field are strongly inhomogeneous along the length of the strata. Therefore, in the head of each stratch, an electrostatic trap is formed, which, with a vertical position of the discharge tube, can hold fine particles in the area of \u200b\u200bthe positive post of discharge.

The process of forming the structure is as follows: The micron particles poured out of the container in the discharge are charged in plasma and are built into the structure that persists how long with the unchanged parameters of the discharge. Laser beam highlights particles in a horizontal or vertical plane (ill. 2). The formation of the spatial structure fixes the camcorder. Separate particles can be seen with the naked eye. In the experiment, particles of several types were used - hollow microspheres from borosilicate glass and melamimaldehyde particles with a diameter from one to one hundred micrometers.

In the center of the strati, a dust cloud is formed with a diameter of up to several tens of millimeters. Particles are located in horizontal layers, forming hexagonal structures (ill. 3a). The distances between the layers are from 250 to 400 μm, the distance between the particles in the horizontal plane is from 350 to 600 μm. Particle distribution function g (R) It has several pronounced maxima, which confirms the existence of a long-range order in the location of the particles and means the formation of a crystal structure, although plasma dust crystals are clearly visible and naked eye.

By changing the parameters of the discharge, it is possible to influence the form of the particle cloud and even observe the transition from the crystalline state into the liquid ("melting" of the crystal) and then to the gas. Using non-spherical particles - nylon cylinders with a length of 200-300 μm, it was also possible to obtain a structure similar to a liquid crystal (ill. 4).

Dust Plasma in Space

On the ground, the strength of gravity is prevented on earth to further study plasma crystals. Therefore, it was decided to start experiments in space, in microgravity conditions.

The first experiment conducted astronauts A. Ya. Solovyov and P. V. Vinogradov at the Russian orbital complex "Mir" in January 1998. They had to study the formation of ordered plasma-dust structures in weightlessness under the action of sunlight.

In glass ampoules filled with neon, spherical particles of bronze with cesium coating at pressures of 0.01 and 40 Torr were found. The ampoule was installed near the porthole, shaken and recorded with a video camera movement of particles highlighted by a laser. The observations showed that the particles were initially moving chaotic, and then a directional motion appears, which is associated with the plasma diffusion on the walls of the ampoule.

Another interesting fact was found: after a few seconds, after shaking the ampoule, the particles began to stick together, forming agglomerates. Under the action of sunlight, the agglomerates decayed. The agglomeration may be associated with the fact that the initial moments of illumination of particles acquire multi-dimensional charges: positive - due to the emission of photoelectrons, negative - charged by the flows of plasma electrons emitted from other particles - and variemlessly charged particles stick together with each other.

Analyzing the behavior of particulates, you can estimate the amount of their charge (about 1000 electron charges). In most cases, the particles formed only a liquid structure, although sometimes crystals occurred.

In early 1998, it was decided to carry out a joint Russian-German experiment "Plasma Crystal" on board the Russian segment of the International Space Station (PC MKC). The formulation and preparation of the experiment was carried out by scientists of the Institute of Thermal Physics of Extreme States of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the participation of the Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics of Max Planck (Germany) and Energy Rocket and Space Corporation.

The main element of the equipment is a vacuum plasma chamber (ill. 5), consisting of two steel square plates and glass inserts of a square section. On each of the plates, disk electrodes are mounted to create a high-frequency discharge. The electrodes are built into the injection of dust particles in the plasma. All optical system, including two digital chambers and two semiconductor lasers to illuminate the particle cloud, is installed on a movable plate, which can be moved by scanning a plasma-dust structure.

Two sets of equipment were developed and manufactured: technological (it is also training) and flight. In February 2001, after testing and pre-flight training on Baikonur, the flight kit was delivered to the service module of the Russian segment of the ISS.

The first experiment with particles from melamine formaldehyde was performed in 2001. The expectations of scientists were justified: for the first time the formation of three-dimensional ordered highly measured micron-sized particles with a large parameter of nonideality - three-dimensional plasma crystals with gorges-centricated and volume-centered lattices was found.

The ability to receive and investigate plasma formations of various configurations and extensions increases, if you use a high-frequency induction discharge. In the area between the homogeneous plasma and its restricting wall or surrounding neutral gas, it is possible to expect levitation (freezes) of both individual charged macals and their ensembles. In cylindrical glass tubes, where the discharge is excited by a ring electrode, a large number of particles hang over the plasma formation. Depending on the pressure and power, either stable crystalline structures arise, or structure with oscillating particles, or convective particle flows. When using a flat electrode, the particles hang over the bottom-filled neon flask and form an ordered structure - a plasma crystal. So far, such experiments are conducted in laboratories on Earth and in the conditions of parabolic flight, but in the future it is planned to establish this equipment to install on the ISS.

The unique properties of plasma crystals (simplicity of obtaining, observing and controlling parameters, as well as small relaxation times to equilibrium and response to external perturbations) make them an excellent object in the study of both the properties of strongly imperfal plasma and the fundamental properties of crystals. Results can be used to simulate real atomic or molecular crystals and studying physical processes with their participation.

The structures of the macrostics in the plasma are a good tool and for applied problems associated with microelectronics, in particular with the removal of unwanted dust particles in the production of chips, with the design and synthesis of a small crystal - nanocllastal, nanocluster, with plasma deposition, with separation of particles in size, developing new Highly efficient light sources, the creation of electrical nuclear batteries and lasers, the working fluid in which are parties of the radioactive substance.

Finally, it is quite realistic to create technologies that will allow the controlled deposition of the particles weighted in the plasma to the substrate and thereby create coatings with special properties, including porous and composite, as well as form particles with a multi-layer coating of materials with various properties.

Interesting tasks arise in microbiology, medicine, ecology. The list of possible use of dust plasma is continuously expanding.

Signatures to illustrations

Ill. 1. The correlation function G (R) shows how likely to find another particle at a distance of R from this. For CEO 2 particles in the air jet at room temperature 300 K (A) and in plasma at a temperature of 2170 K (b), the function indicates a chaotic particle distribution. In plasma at a temperature of 1700 K (B), the function has a maximum, that is, a structure arises similar to liquid.

Ill. 2. Installation for the dust plasma study in DC discharge discharge is a vertically-oriented tube filled with neon at low pressure in which a glowing discharge is created. Under certain conditions, there are standing stagnants - fixed zones of uneven luminosity. Dust particles are contained in a container with a mesh bottom over the discharge area. When shaking the particle container, the particles fall down and hang in the stratas, forming ordered structures. In order for dust to be visible, it is highlighted by a flat laser beam. The scattered light is recorded by the camcorder. On the monitor screen, the video image of plasma-dust structures, obtained by lighting dust particles with a laser beam in a green spectrum region.

Ill. 3. In the glowing discharge, an ordered dust structure (a) arises, which corresponds to the correlation function G (R) with several pronounced maxima characteristic of the crystal (b).

Ill. 4. The elongated dust particles (having a cylinder form) are built in parallel to some common axis. This condition is called a plasma liquid crystal by analogy with molecular liquid crystals, where there is a selected direction in the orientation of long molecules.

Ill. 5. Vacuum plasma chamber for studying the dust plasma at the International Space Station (ISS).

Ill. 6. A special installation for studying plasma crystals in high-frequency discharge of low pressure was designed at the Institute of Thermophysics of Extreme States of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The crystal structure is clearly visible when the dust particles are illuminated with laser beams in green and red spectrum areas.

Ill. 7. The structures of dust particles in the three horizontal layers of plasma-patent education: with a volume-centrino bathroom with a lattice (at the top), a granny lattice (in the center) and with hexagonal dense packaging (bottom).

Sakharov TA (R.P.N N-Kryviy, MKOU Nizhnekislyayskaya Sosh. Polyakova)

1. ARTSIMOVICH LA "Elementary plasma physics."

2. http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/1318/ (science and life, crystals in the dust plasma).

3. Robert L. Merlino. Experimental Investigations of Dusty Plasmas (English) (PDF). Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Iowa (17 June 2005). - Historical review of dusty plasma research. Checked July 18, 2009. Archived from the original April 2, 2012.

4. Fortov V.E., A.G. Sailored, S.A. Sailored, V.I. Molotkov, O.F. Petrov. Dust plasma (rus.) // UFN. - 2004. - T. 174. - P. 495-544.

5. Tsytovich V.N. Plasma-dust crystals, drops and clouds (Rus.) // UFN. - 1997. - T. 167. - P. 57-99.

6. Dusty plasma // Low-temperature plasma encyclopedia. - M.: Janus-K, 2006. - T. 1.

7. Fortov V.E. Plasma-dust crystals and liquids on Earth and in space (Rus) // Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - 2005. - T. 75, No. 11. - P. 1012-1027.

8. Klammov B.A. On the criteria for melting complex plasma (Rus.) // UFN. - 2010. - T. 180. - P. 1095-1108.

9. Video from YouTube "Studying field crystals in space."

Plasma is the most common state of the substance in nature: estimated that in this state there is about 95% of ordinary matter in the universe. Stars are plasma bunches, ionized gas with temperatures in tens and hundreds of millions of degrees. Plasma properties make up the basis of modern technologies, the scope of which is extensive.

I did this research work, because I was interested in the fourth state of the substance - plasma in the modern world. The phenomenon discovered recently in low-temperature plasma was fascinated - the formation of a "plasma crystal", that is, a spatial-ordered structure from fine particles - plasma dust.

purpose My research: obtaining a low-temperature plasma by experiment, acquaintance with plasma field crystals.

Research tasks:

1. Expand the knowledge of "plasma".

2. Get low-temperature plasma at home.

3. Find out the scope of plasma.

4. To analyze the information received from various sources and experimental data.

The relevance of this work is that recently plasma physics is an actively developing area of \u200b\u200bscience, which to this day amazing discoveries are performed, unusual phenomena are observed, requiring understanding and explanations. The discovery in this area will improve the quality of human life: to organize waste recycling; production of alternative energy; microcircuit production; an increase in the strength of metals; invention of new plasma motors; defeat harmful microbes; Improve the quality of color images in plasma panels; Explain the evolution of the universe, etc.

Working with information sources

Plasma opening history

The fourth state of matter was opened by W. Crox (Fig. 1) in 1879 and called "Plasma" I. Langmur (Fig. 2) in 1928, due to associations with the fourth state of the substance (plasma) with blood plasma.

Fig. 1. W. Krovonz

Fig. 2. I. Lengmür

I. Langmür wrote: "Excluding the space near the electrodes, where a small amount of electrons is found, ionized gas contains electrons and ions in almost the same amounts, as a result of which the system total charge is very small. We use the term "plasma" to describe this entirely an electrically neutral area consisting of ions and electrons. " .

The concept of plasma

Plasma - partially or completely ionized gas formed from neutral atoms (or molecules) and charged particles (ions and electrons). The most important feature of the plasma is its quasi-neutrality, which means that the bulk densities of positive and negative charged particles, of which it is formed, are almost the same.

Gas passes into the plasma state, if some of the components of its atoms (molecules) have lost one or more electrons for any reason, i.e. turned into positive ions. In some cases, negative ions may arise in the plasma as a result of the "sticking" of electrons to neutral atoms.

If neutral particles remain in the gas, the plasma is called completely ionized. Plasma obeys gas laws and in many respects behaves like gas. At the same time, plasma behavior in some cases, especially when exposed to electrical and magnetic fields on it, it turns out so unusual that it often speaks about the new fourth state of the substance (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Fourth state of matter

What is a dust plasma?

The dust of the plasma is an ionized gas containing dust - particles of a solid. Such plasma is often found in space: in planetary rings, tails of comets, interplanetary and interstellar clouds (Fig. 4). It has been found near the artificial satellites of the Earth and in the trim area of \u200b\u200bthermonuclear plants with magnetic retention, as well as in plasma reactors, arcs, discharges.

Fig. 4. Plasma tail comet

Fig. 5. Plasma spraying

Fig.6. Etching platinum in hydrogen

Fig. 7. Thin semiconductor film

Fig.8. Nanoparticles

Plasma Crystal

The dimensions of dust particles are relatively large - from the shares of the micron to several tens, sometimes hundreds of microns (Fig. 9). Their charge may have an extremely large amount and exceed the electron charge in hundreds and even hundreds of thousands of times. As a result, the average Coulomb energy of the interaction of particles, proportional to the square of the charge, can be much superb in the middle heat energy (Fig. 10). It turns out the plasma, which is called very imperfect, since its behavior is not subject to the laws of the ideal gas. (Recall that the plasma can be considered as perfect gas if the energy of the interaction of particles is much less than their thermal energy).

Fig. 9. Plasma Crystal

Fig. 10. Coulomb Probre

Theoretical calculations of the equilibrium properties of the dust plasma show that under certain conditions, the strong electrostatic interaction "takes the top" above the low thermal energy and causes the charged particles to line up in space in a certain way. A streamlined structure is formed, which received the name of the Coulomb or plasma crystal. Plasma crystals are similar to spatial structures in a liquid or solid (Fig. 11). Phase transitions such as melting and evaporation can occur here.

Fig. 11. Plasma crystal

If the dust plasma particles are large enough, the plasma crystal can be observed with a naked eye.

Getting low-temperature plasma at home

After some studies, properties and characteristics of the plasma, I was able to gain experience at home low-temperature plasma (the video "Plasma obtaining"). To do this, I need the following equipment: microwave oven, wind-resistant waters, glass jar.

Fig. 12. Preparatory stage

Experience:

1. From the beginning, I took out a glass dish from the microwave oven, on which the products are rotated when heated. Prepared a match (Fig. 12).

2. Then, at the microwave center, I put a match and lit her.

3. After that, I covered the match with a glass jar, then closed the microwave oven, turned it on by setting the product heating function (Fig. 13).

4. After a certain amount of time, it can be seen as a plasma is formed in a glass jar with a burning match (Fig. 14).

Fig. 13. Match under a glass jar in microwave oven

Fig. 14. Low-temperature plasma

Thanks to this simple experience, it can be seen how gas is ionized under the action of temperature and thereby obtaining partially ionized plasma. If I managed so simply get a low-temperature plasma, then it can be obtained at the enterprises, while the cost of obtaining it is minimal.

Conclusions

I managed to get a low-temperature plasma at home. I expanded my knowledge on this issue, learned a lot of new and interesting. I was very interested in this topic and I am sure that when I will choose a profession, this research work will leave your mark.

"Chaotic" plasma is the 5th state of the substance. The crystalline plasma is the state of the "organized" plasma, where it is not necessary to hold the magnetic field. Plasma properties make up the basis of modern technologies, the scope of which is extensive.

I believe that plasma is a symbol of the future, the most important industry, without which the further development of civilization is unthinkable. Plasma, in my opinion, an alternative source of energy and doctor of ecology.

Bibliographic reference

Skoblikov A.A. Getting low-temperature plasma, acquaintance with plasma field crystals // Start in science. - 2016. - № 2. - P. 133-136;
URL: http://science-start.ru/ru/Article/View?id\u003d51 (date of handling: 03/28/2019).

The legendary experiment, which began on the Soviet orbital station "Peace", continued on the ISS with new equipment. A unique device that has recently been taken aboard the space station is a device of an additional gas flow regulator. It will give the opportunity to receive more accurate results during the experiment on the study of plasma and will increase its purity. Data on what is a dusty plasma will receive previously unknown information about the universe, create compact energy batteries and lasers, develop new diamond growing technology, and serve as a basis for the development of plasma medicine.

Any substance can be in four phase states - solid, liquid, gaseous and plasma. Plasma is more than 99% of the visible mass of the universe, starting with stars and ending with interstellar gas. Plasma containing dust particles is very common in space - these are planetary rings, tails of comets, interstellar clouds.

The study of plasma with microparticles with a size of several microns (dust particles) and monitoring its behavior in microgravity conditions, in which almost complete compensation of the weight of microparticles occurs, there are already more than two decades. Back in January 1998, the Cosmonauts of Anatoly Soloviev and Pavel Vinogradov were carried out at the installation of "Plasma Crystal-1" (PC-1), the first experiment to study the physics of plasma-dust structures, including plasma crystals and liquids. In August of the same year, research on PC-2 equipment, consisting of a gas-discharge tube and a device for the video recording, began to conduct research on PC-2 equipment. In March 2001, Sergey Krikalev and Yuri Gyzenko conducted the first session of the experiment on the ISS at the installation of PC-3, created jointly by Russian and German specialists. The first experiments at the new installation "Plasma Crystal-4", created jointly by scientists from the Joint High Temperature Institute (RAS and the German Space Agency (DLR), began in June 2015. In the process of research, the need to improve this installation was revealed. In July of this year, additional equipment was delivered to the ISS to improve the quality of the experiment "Plasma Crystal-4".

The purpose of scientists is to obtain and study the plasma-dust crystals and other ordered structures in plasma. In particular, it allows us to study the laws of processes occurring in protozoles, protopetnary rings and other celestial bodies. In the course of experiments, microscopic particles of a certain size (a diameter of several micrometers) are entered into neon or argon plasma in the gas-discharge tube. When microparticles fall into the plasma, they collect electrons and positive ions, resulting in a negative charge due to higher electron mobility. Microparticles are repelled from each other and form various three-dimensional structures. Such research cannot be carried out on Earth, since dust particles are subject to gravity and can form either two-dimensional structures or strongly deformed (compressed) three-dimensional.

Despite the fact that for the twentieth history of the study of the dust plasma was given a lot of new interesting data, it was still failed to create a complete mathematical model of the behavior of self-organizing particles. New equipment developed by scientists from the AII RAS and DLR will allow pure experiments by reducing the gas flow, which forms a plasma to dozens of times. Now you can expand the gas pressure range and receive new knowledge about the processes in the dust plasma.

When microparticles are in plasma, they have a number of forces. One of the main - electrical, affecting a particle in the discharge field. The second is the power of ion hobbies. The third is friction about the gas: if the body enters the atmosphere, then it loses the speed precisely because of it, "said Senior Researcher, Senior Researcher, Ovt Ran, Andrei Lipaev. - Accordingly, when we organize a protocol mode, a kind of wind occurs, which carries particles. The device that was used initially for overlapping the flow during operation in the complex conditions of the cosmic experiment began to give a significant leakage of gas, and the particles simply carried out the flow.

To solve this problem, specialists of the SBR RAS and DLR developed an additional device that allows you to fully control the gas flow using an external pressure regulator and two additional valves. So it is possible to achieve a stable position of particles. As a result, scientists have the opportunity to fully control the experimental conditions.

We can say that so far we simply could not get the necessary control over the flow of gas and, therefore, high-quality results. Previously, working with particles of less than 3 microns was simply impossible. Meanwhile, the particles of about 1 micron are interesting from the point of view of studying such processes, such as the formation of structures, Andrei Lipaev said.

New equipment has already been installed on the ISS, from the side the picture is transmitted to the Flight Management Center. Employees of the ASTF RAS receive telemetry and video of the experiment, the sound channels of communication with the board of the ISS are also working - you can hear how negotiations are held. A new multi-day experiment using additional equipment for the study of dust particles in the plasma has recently been completed and justified expectations. Now scientists will conduct a detailed analysis of its results.

According to the Izvestia, the director of the OVT RAS, Oleg Petrov, obtained during the experiment, the data will help to understand the essence of the processes of self-organization.

The system under study is an open dissipative system: there is a constant influx of energy and its permanent outflow. Such systems are characteristic of all living organisms. What happens to this system, what kind of self-organizing phenomena in it? All this can and should be explored, "said Oleg Petrov.

Data on what is a dusty plasma can bring greater practical benefits: they will allow, in particular, to create new compact energy batteries and lasers and develop diamond growing technology in microgravity conditions. Also, the data from the ISS is important for the development of plasma medicine, the essence of which is that low-temperature plasma can initiate, stimulate and monitor complex biochemical processes in living systems.

The PK-4 experiment is conducted with the support of Roskosmos and the European Space Agency.

In November, it was announced the cessation on the ISS experiment "Plasma Crystal". Special equipment for the experiment was placed in the cargo ship "Albert Einstein" and burned down with him over the Pacific Ocean. So the long story ended, probably the most famous space experiment. I want to tell about him and a little bit about science on the ISS as a whole.

And where is the discoveries?

First of all, you need to make a somewhat demotizing entry. Modern science is not a computer game where, in principle, there are no useless research, and each discovery gives a noticeable bonus. And, alas, the times passed when the Single Single-type genius could one find a lot of devices radically changing the lives. Now science is a methodic movement blindly on all available paths, which is carried out by large organizations, lasts for years and can lead to zero results. Therefore, information on research on the ISS, which is published regularly, without adapting to a scientific and popular view looks, to be honest, very boring. At the same time, some of these experiments are really interesting, and, if they do not promise instant fabulous results, they give hope for improving the understanding of how the world is arranged, and where we move for new fundamental and applied discoveries.

The idea of \u200b\u200bexperiment

It is known that the substance can be in four phase states - solid, liquid, gaseous and plasma. Plasma is 99.9% of the mass of the universe, ranging from stars and ending with interstellar gas. On the land of the plasma is lightning, northern lights and, for example, gas-discharge lamps. The plasma containing dust particles is also very common - these are planetary rings, cometic tails, interstellar clouds. And the idea of \u200b\u200bthe experiment consisted in artificially creating a plasma with dust microparticles and observation of its behavior in the conditions of earthly gravity and microgravity.

In the first version of the experiment (in the picture), the ampoule with dust plasma was highlighted by the rays of the sun, the dust in the plasma highlighted the laser, and the highlighted area was filmed on the camera. In the future, more complex experimental installations were applied. "Black Barrel" burned together with Albert Einstein was an installation of the third generation.

results

Experiments in micrographs justified the hopes of scientists - the dust of the plasma in its structure became crystalline or exhibited the properties of liquids. In contrast to the ideal gas, in which molecules are moving chaotic (see heat movement), dusty plasma, being gas, shows the properties of solid and liquid bodies - melting and evaporation processes are possible.
At the same time, there were unexpected discoveries. For example, the cavity could occur in the crystal. Why - is still unknown.

But the most unexpected discovery was that the dust of the plasma was formed under some conditions of spiral structures, similar to DNA! Perhaps even the origin of life on Earth is somehow due to dust plasma.

Perspectives

The results of perennial studies on the experiment "Plasma Crystal" show a fundamental opportunity:

Forming in the dust plasma of nanomaterials with unique properties.

The deposition of materials from the dust plasma on the substrate and obtain new types of coatings - multilayer, porous, composite.

Air purification from industrial and radiation emissions and plasma etching chips.

Plasma sterilization of non-living objects and open wounds on living beings.

Describes conducted in the period 2001-2014. With the participation of Russian and German scientists and astronauts, the study of plasma crystals at the International Space Station. During the experiments, a number of new effects and phenomena were found not observed in the conditions of earthly gravity and expand our ideas about the structure and dynamics of matter.
For specialists in physics of dust plasma, as well as all those who are interested in the issues of producing a modern space experiment, organization and practice of space research.

STARTING POINT.
Scientific research in space - the enterprise is a multi-stage. From the plan to complete incarnation, the project can last for more than twenty years. This means that researchers must be sufficiently young or that they may have to convey their knowledge and skills and present their duties on the experiment to younger colleagues.

Space studies are different - there may be studies from space (for example, remote sensing of the Earth or Astronomy), the study of the cosmos itself (for example, the study of near-earth space, space weather, the study of the interplanetary environment, as well as individual planets, moon, asteroids and comets) Studies using specific features of space (say, weightlessness, more precisely speaking, microgravity and huge distances). Some studies are more convenient to produce on unmanned spacecraft using machine guns and robotics, and others require experiments produced by people, like those are produced in earthly scientific laboratories.

CONTENT
From authors
1. point of reference
2. "Plasma Crystal"
3. Space experiment is needed.
4. Crystallization of Russian-German cooperation
5. Germany: Experiment in parabolic flight
6. Germany: Rocket Experiment
7. Russia: First Experiment "Plasma Crystal" in Space
8. How the International Space Station was born
9. Russian-German plan
10. Farewell to the "world"
11. Creating an experimental installation
12. Splash "Baikonur"
13. Experiment "PC-3"
14. Cosmonaut preparation center
15. Korolev - Space City
16. Experiment "PC-3 +"
17. "Plasma Crystal" in the constellation of astronauts
18. Our meetings on Earth
19. Research results
20. Future is already near
21. Final Word
Bibliography.

Free download e-book in a convenient format, see and read:
Download the book Plasma Crystal, Space Experiments, Fordov V.E., Baturin Yu.M., Morphive G.O., Petrov O.F., 2015 - FilesKachat.com, Fast and Free Download.

Gravity, from crystal spheres to moles Nor, Petrov A.N., 2013
Support for lectures at the rate of laser technologies, introduction to laser technologies, Veiko V.P., Petrov A.A., 2009