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At least 271 records · Page 15

Stripping the Sheath From Stranded Cables

Device similar to tubing cutter removes tough plastic cover. Insulation stripper is 3 in. (7.6 cm) long and 1.5 (3.8 cm) in diameter. Two rollers are small-diameter bearings. Cutter blade journaled for rotation between pair of similar bearings. Bearings either pin or ball types of suitable dimensions.

Prisk, A. L.↗

Protein changes in leaf-sheath pulvini of barley (hordeum) induced by gravistimulation

Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamade gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) pattern of salt soluble proteins elicite by gravistimulation were shown in the top and the bottom halves of the gravistimulated pulvini as follows: at least five proteins were increased in the tissues derived from the bottom halves of the pulvini in the approximate molecular weight range of 91, 57, 50, 22, 17 kilodatons. SDS densitometric scans indicated that the two of them are probably cellulase and invertase.

Kaufman, P. B.↗

Plasma sheath structure surrounding a large powered spacecraft

Various factors determining the floating potential of a highly biased (about 4-kV) spacecraft in low earth orbit are discussed. While the common rule of thumb (90 percent negative; 10 percent positive) is usually a good guide, different biasing and grounding patterns can lead to high positive potentials. The NASCAP/LEO code can be used to predict spacecraft floating potential for complex three-dimensional spacecraft.

Mandell, M. J.↗

Space-charge-limited current flow in a spherical double sheath

The solutions presently obtained for counterflowing, space charge-limited negatively and positively charged particle currents between two spherical surfaces indicate that the current magnitudes exhibit the usual 3/2-power dependence on driving potential difference and square root dependence on particle charge/mass ratio. The magnitude of either current strongly depends on the radius ratio of the two spherical surfaces, while the relative magnitudes of the two counterflowing currents are related by the square root of the mass ratio of the two charged particle species and a radius ratio factor that lies in the 0.1-1.0 range.

Wei, R.↗

Particle-in-cell simulations of sheath formation around biased interconnectors in a low-earth-orbit plasma

The interaction between satellite solar arrays and the LEO plasma is presently studied with particle-in-cell simulations in which an electrical potential was suddenly applied to the solar cell interconnector. The consequent temporal response was followed for the real O(+)-electron mass ratio in the cases of 100- and 250-V solar cells, various solar cell thicknesses, and solar cells with secondary electron emission. Larger applied potentials and thinner solar cells lead to greater initial polarization surface charges, and therefore longer discharging and shielding times. When secondary electron emission from the cover glass is brought to bear, however, the potential structure is nearly planar, allowing constant interaction between plasma electrons and cover glass; a large fraction of the resulting secondary electrons is collected by the interconnector, constituting an order-of-magnitude increase in collected current.

Thiemann, H.↗

High voltage plasma sheath analysis related to TSS-1

On the first mission of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1), a 1.8 m diameter spherical satellite will be deployed a distance of 20 km above the space shuttle Orbiter on an insulated conducting tether. The satellite will be held at electric potentials up to 5000 volts positive with respect to the ambient plasma. Due to the passage of the conducting tether through the Earth's magnetic field, an emf will be created, driving electrons down the tether to the orbiter, out through an electron gun into the ionosphere and back into the positive biased satellite. Instrumentation on the satellite will measure electron flow to the surface at several locations, but these detectors have a limited range of acceptance angle. The problem addressed herein is the determination of the electron current distribution over the satellite surface and the angle of incidence of the incoming electrons relative to the surface normal.

Sheldon, John W.↗

High-voltage sheaths and charge neutralization in space power systems

The authors examine the electrodynamics of charged platforms in the ionosphere with a variety of analytical and numerical models. These models have been specifically designed to study the tethered satellite system (TSS-1) due to be launched in early 1992. One of the objectives of TSS-1 is to determine the potential of tethers for electrical power generation from orbital motion across the earth's magnetic field. The author identifies and explores important aspects of the interaction between the ambient ionospheric plasma and moving charged orbital platforms: (1) the formation of energetic particles in the wake of a nominally neutral satellite, (2) transient current collection by a highly charged platform, (3) the current closure paths in the ionosphere between multiple polarized platforms, and (4) the conditions for rapid neutralization by enhanced plasma formation in the presence of effluent gases.

Satyanarayana, P.↗

Quasi-periodic oscillations of the magnetopause during northward sheath magnetic field

The Geotail satellite quasi-periodically crossed the dawn flank of magnetopause more than ten times during an interval of 1.5 hours on November 4, 1992. Magnetopause crossings were characterized by quasi-periodic pulses of a sawtooth wave form in the magnetic field and the plasma flow components tangential to the magnetopause. The magnetic field strength in the magnetosheath was larger than that in the magnetosphere. The direction of magnetic field outside the magnetopause current layer was northward with antisunward tilt, indicating the draping of magnetic field on the magnetopause. Boundary normals of wavy magnetopause systematically incline sunward on the upstream side, while they tend to incline antisunward with considerable deviation on the downstream side. Comparison with other multiple crossing events suggests that the November 4 event exhibits wavy structure of the dawn flank magnetopause associated with the northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF).

Kokubun, S.↗

Stability of the Halley Cometo-Sheath with Resistivity and Plasma Motion

The MHD stability of the cometary inner shealth determined by the balance between the inward Lorentz body force and the outward ion-neutral drag force is investigated by numerically solving the wave equations which include resistivity, plasma motion and plasma pressure with the help of two-point boundary value method.

Comets Cometosheath MHD Stability↗

Analysis of Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in a Magnetized Re-Entry Plasma Sheath Via the Kinetic Equation

Based on a theoretical model of the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a hypersonically induced plasma, it has been demonstrated that the classical radiofrequency communications blackout that is experienced during atmospheric reentry can be mitigated through the appropriate control of an external magnetic field of nominal magnitude. The model is based on the kinetic equation treatment of Vlasov and involves an analytical solution for the electric and magnetic fields within the plasma allowing for a description of the attendant transmission, reflection and absorption coefficients. The ability to transmit through the magnetized plasma is due to the magnetic windows that are created within the plasma via the well-known whistler modes of propagation. The case of 2 GHz transmission through a re-entry plasma is considered. The coefficients are found to be highly sensitive to the prevailing electron density and will thus require a dynamic control mechanism to vary the magnetic field as the plasma evolves through the re-entry phase.

Manning, Robert M.↗

Turbulent Reconnection Rates from Cluster Observations in the Magneto sheath

The role of turbulence in producing fast reconnection rates is an important unresolved question. Scant in situ analyses exist. We apply multiple spacecraft techniques to a case of nonlinear turbulent reconnection in the magnetosheath to test various theoretical results for turbulent reconnection rates. To date, in situ estimates of the contribution of turbulence to reconnection rates have been calculated from an effective electric field derived through linear wave theory. However, estimates of reconnection rates based on fully nonlinear turbulence theories and simulations exist that are amenable to multiple spacecraft analyses. Here we present the linear and nonlinear theories and apply some of the nonlinear rates to Cluster observations of reconnecting, turbulent current sheets in the magnetos heath. We compare the results to the net reconnection rate found from the inflow speed. Ultimately, we intend to test and compare linear and nonlinear estimates of the turbulent contribution to reconnection rates and to measure the relative contributions of turbulence and the Hall effect.

Wendel, Deirdre↗

A Comparison of ARTEMIS Observations and Particle-in-cell Modeling of the Lunar Photoelectron Sheath in the Terrestrial Magnetotail

As an airless body in space with no global magnetic field, the Moon is exposed to both solar ultraviolet radiation and ambient plasmas. Photoemission from solar UV radiation and collection of ambient plasma are typically opposing charging currents and simple charging current balance predicts that the lunar dayside surface should charge positively; however, the two ARTEMIS probes have observed energydependent loss cones and high-energy, surface-originating electron beams above the dayside lunar surface for extended periods in the magnetosphere, which are indicative of negative surface potentials. In this paper, we compare observations by the ARTEMIS P1 spacecraft with a one dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and show that the energy-dependent loss cones and electron beams are due to the presence of stable, non-monotonic, negative potentials above the lunar surface. The simulations also show that while the magnitude of the non-monotonic potential is mainly driven by the incoming electron temperature, the incoming ion temperature can alter this magnitude, especially for periods in the plasma sheet when the ion temperature is more than twenty times the electron temperature. Finally, we note several other plasma phenomena associated with these non-monotonic potentials, such as broadband electrostatic noise and electron cyclotron harmonic emissions, and offer possible generation mechanisms for these phenomena.

Lunar↗

Temporal Evolution of the Plasma Sheath Surrounding Solar Cells in Low Earth Orbit

Initial results from the PIC simulation and the LEM simulation have been presented. The PIC simulation results show that more detailed study is required to refine the ISS solar array current collection model and to understand the development of the current collection in time. The initial results from the LEM demonstrate that is it possible the transients are caused by solar array interaction with the environment, but there are presently too many assumptions in the model to be certain. Continued work on the PIC simulation will provide valuable information on the development of the barrier potential, which will allow refinement the LEM simulation and a better understanding of the causes and effects of the transients.

Willis, Emily M.↗