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The diffusion/drift model of the positive column of glow discharge in neon with fine dust particles was used to study the role of a dust cloud with a void in the interaction between plasma and dust particles in the range of neon pressure and discharge current where dust particles may form structures with cavities. The results represent the nonlocal effect of void size on plasma composition, configuration of electric field and on distributions of plasma components in discharge with voids in dust structures. Simulations show that the electric field strength and the metastable atom concentration inside the void are higher than in the discharge without dust particles, while electron concentration may be either higher or lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory investigations on pulsed current spreading from spherical electrodes and evolution of electrical breakdown of silica sand with different water contents under a 15–20 kV voltage pulse were carried out. A sharp nonlinear decrease in the pulsed resistance of soil was observed when the current density exceeded a certain threshold value. Then ionization-overheating instability develops and leads to current contraction and plasma channel formation in the soil. The method for determination of the threshold electric field for ionization is proposed. Electrical discharge in wet sand was found to develop with a significant delay time for long discharge gaps similar to thermal breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the simulation and experimental results of charged microparticles dynamics in electrodynamic traps in a gas flow at atmospheric pressure. For the first time the capture and confinement of charged microparticles in a linear Paul trap has been experimentally confirmed at atmospheric pressure in gas flows. The regions of the microparticle, linear Paul trap and gas flow parameters needed for microparticle confinement have been obtained and experimentally tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion/drift model of the positive column of glow discharge in neon was used for the analysis of the role of neon metastable atoms in the interaction between neon plasma and dust particles. The radial profiles of electrons and metastable atoms were simulated in the typical range of neon pressure and discharge current where dust particles may form dense dust structures changing the plasma properties. The results showed the nonlocal effect of dust particles on the plasma composition. Within the dust structure, the metastable atom concentration was shown to be higher than in the discharge without dust particles at the same discharge parameters; the ratio of concentrations of metastable atoms and electrons may increase with increasing dust particle concentration in a certain range of discharge parameters. The partial contribution of metastable atoms to the ionization was found to be higher than their losses on the surface of dust particles and increased when the gas pressure was increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]