Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “PARTICLE CHARGING”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solar Absorptivity Degradation of Spacecraft Materials Due to UV and Charged Particles in the Gateway Environment

Traditionally, most of the data accumulated for material optical property degradation in space has been in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. However, Gateway is a new space station that will be assembled and flown in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) for 15 years. Additionally, some Gateway modules will have a slow transit from Earth to NRHO that will take over a year to pass through the Van Allen Belts, which contain damaging charged particles. The environments Gateway modules will encounter are not well characterized. Environmental factors such as charged particles and ultraviolet (UV) radiation have been shown to significantly increase solar absorptivity (α) for some thermal control materials and coatings. Since α will impact thermal performance over the mission, the Gateway Passive Thermal Control System (PTCS) Group has identified charged particle and UV degradation of Gateway materials as a knowledge gap. Candidate materials and coatings were subjected to expected mission charged particle environments and over 5000 Equivalent Solar Hours (ESH) of UV at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In situ change in reflectivity was observed at specified intervals during testing such that change in α could be plotted as a function of time of solar exposure.

Optical Property↗
NASA NTRS1984

A stochastic model for photon noise induced by charged particles in multiplier phototubes of the space telescope fine guidance sensors

The Space Telescope (ST) is subjected to charged particle strikes in its space environment. ST's onboard fine guidance sensors utilize multiplier phototubes (PMT) for attitude determination. These tubes, when subjected to charged particle strikes, generate spurious photons in the form of Cerenkov radiation and fluorescence which give rise to unwanted disturbances in the pointing of the telescope. A stochastic model for the number of these spurious photons which strike the photocathode of the multiplier phototube which in turn produce the unwanted photon noise are presented. The model is applicable to both galactic cosmic rays and charged particles trapped in the Earth's radiation belts. The model which was programmed allows for easy adaption to a wide range of particles and different parameters for the phototube of the multiplier. The probability density functions for photons noise caused by protons, alpha particles, and carbon nuclei were using thousands of simulated strikes. These distributions are used as part of an overall ST dynamics simulation. The sensitivity of the density function to changes in the window parameters was also investigated.

Howell, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Scintillator-fiber charged particle track-imaging detector

A scintillator-fiber charged-particle track-imaging detector was developed using a bundle of square cross section plastic scintillator fiber optics, proximity focused onto an image intensified charge injection device (CID) camera. The tracks of charged particle penetrating into the scintillator fiber bundle are projected onto the CID camera and the imaging information is read out in video format. The detector was exposed to beams of 15 MeV protons and relativistic Neon, Manganese, and Gold nuclei and images of their tracks were obtained. Details of the detector technique, properties of the tracks obtained, and preliminary range measurements of 15 MeV protons stopping in the fiber bundle are presented.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Total Dose Testing of a CMOS Charged Particle Spectrometer

A first-generation CMOS Charged Particle Spectrometer chip [1] was designed at JPL for flight on the STRV-2 spacecraft. These devices will collect electron and proton spectra in low Earth orbit as part of an experiment to demonstrate Active Pixel Sensor (APS) technology in space. This paper presents the results of total dose testing on these chips and, where possible, attempts to extend the results to other Active Pixel Sensors.

CMOS↗
NASA NTRS1986

Stochastic model for photon noise induced by charged particles in multiplier phototubes of the Hubble Space Telescope fine guidance sensors

The Space Telescope (ST) is subjected to charged particle strikes in its space environment. ST's onboard fine guidance sensors utilize multiplier phototubes (PMT) for attitude determination. These tubes, when subjected to charged particle strikes, generate spurious photons in the form of Cerenkov radiation and fluorescence which give rise to unwanted disturbances in the pointing of the telescope. A stochastic model for the number of these spurious photons which strike the photocathodes of the multiplier phototube which in turn produce the unwanted photon noise are presented. The model is applicable to both galactic cosmic rays and charged particles trapped in the earth's radiation belts. The model which was programmed allows for easy adaption to a wide range of particles and different parameters for the phototube of the multiplier. The probability density functions for photons noise caused by protons, alpha particles, and carbon nuclei were using thousands of simulated strikes. These distributions are used as part of an overall ST dynamics simulation. The sensitivity of the density function to changes in the window parameters was also investigated.

Howell, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Energetic charged-particle phenomena in the Jovian magnetosphere - First results from the Ulysses COSPIN collaboration

The Ulysses spacecraft made the first exploration of the region of Jupiter's magnetosphere at high Jovigraphic latitudes on the dusk side and reached higher magnetic latitudes on the day side than any previous mission to Jupiter. The cosmic and solar particle investigations (COSPIN) instrumentation achieved a remarkably well integrated set of observations of energetic charged particles in the energy ranges of about 1 to 170 megaelectron volts for electrons and 0.3 to 20 megaelectron volts for protons and heavier nuclei. The new findings include an apparent polar cap region in the northern hemisphere in which energetic charged particles following Jovian magnetic field lines may have direct access to the interplanetary medium; high-energy electron bursts on the dusk side that are apparently associated with field-aligned currents and radio burst emissions; persistence of the global 10-hour relativistic electron 'clock' phenomenon throughout Jupiter's magnetosphere; on the basis of charged-particle measurements, apparent dragging of magnetic field lines at large radii in the dusk sector toward the tail; and consistent outflow of megaelectron volt electrons and large-scale departures from corotation for nucleons.

Simpson, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Perturbation theory for charged-particle transport in one dimension

Perturbation theory, when applied to charged-particle transport, generates a series solution that requires a double quadrature per term. The continuity of higher-order terms leads to numerical evaluation of the series. The high rate of convergence of the series makes the method a practical tool for charged-particle transport problems. The coupling of the neutron component in the case of proton transport in tissue does not greatly alter the rate of convergence. The method holds promise for a practical high-energy proton transport theory.

Wilson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Influence of Particle Charge on Heterogeneous Reaction Rate Coefficients

The effects of particle charge on heterogeneous reaction rates are presented. Many atmospheric particles, whether liquid or solid are charged. This surface charge causes a redistribution of charge within a liquid particle and as a consequence a perturbation in the gaseous uptake coefficient. The amount of perturbation is proportional to the external potential and the square of the ratio of debye length in the liquid to the particle radius. Previous modeling has shown how surface charge affects the uptake coefficient of charged aerosols. This effect is now included in the heterogeneous reaction rate of an aerosol ensemble. Extension of this analysis to ice particles will be discussed and examples presented.

Aikin, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Charged Particle Environment Definition for NGST: Model Development

NGST will operate in a halo orbit about the L2 point, 1.5 million km from the Earth, where the spacecraft will periodically travel through the magnetotail region. There are a number of tools available to calculate the high energy, ionizing radiation particle environment from galactic cosmic rays and from solar disturbances. However, space environment tools are not generally available to provide assessments of charged particle environment and its variations in the solar wind, magnetosheath, and magnetotail at L2 distances. An engineering-level phenomenology code (LRAD) was therefore developed to facilitate the definition of charged particle environments in the vicinity of the L2 point in support of the NGST program. LRAD contains models tied to satellite measurement data of the solar wind and magnetotail regions. The model provides particle flux and fluence calculations necessary to predict spacecraft charging conditions and the degradation of materials used in the construction of NGST. This paper describes the LRAD environment models for the deep magnetotail (XGSE < -100 Re) and solar wind, and presents predictions of the charged particle environment for NGST.

Blackwell, William C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An APL program for the distribution of energy deposition by charged particles passing through thin absorbers

An APL program which numerically evaluates the probability density function (PDF) for the energy deposited in a thin absorber by a charged particle is proposed, with application to the construction, pointing, and control of spacecraft. With this program, the PDF of the restricted energy loss distribution of Watts (1973) is derived, and Vavilov's (1957) distribution is obtained by proper parameter selection. The method is demonstrated with the example of the effect of charged particle induced radiation on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) pointing accuracy. A Monte Carlo study simulates the photon noise caused by charged particles passing through the photomultiplier tube window, and the stochastic variation of energy loss is introduced into the simulation by generating random energy losses from a power law distribution. The program eliminates annoying loop procedures, and model parameter sensitivity can be studied using the graphical output.

Howell, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The effect of adiabatic focusing upon charged particle propagation in random magnetic fields

Charged particles propagating along the diverging lines of force of a spatially inhomogeneous guiding field were considered as they are scattered by random fields. Their longitudinal transport is described in terms of the eigenfunctions of a Sturm-Liouville operator incorporating the effect of adiabatic focussing along with that of scattering. The relaxation times and characteristic velocities are graphed and tabulated. The particle density is evaluated as a function of space and time for two different regimes. In the first regime (relatively weak focussing), a diffusive mode of propagation is dominant but coherent modes are also dominant. In the second regime (strong focussing), diffusion does not occur and the propagation is purely coherent. This supercoherent mode corresponds exactly to the so-called scatter-free propagation of kilovolt solar flare electrons. On a larger scale, focussed transport provides an interpretation of many observed characteristics of extragalactic radio sources.

Earl, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Cataract production in mice by heavy charged particles

The cataractogenic effects of heavy charged particles are evaluated in mice in relation to dose and ionization density. The relative biological effectiveness in relation to linear energy transfer for various particles is considered. Results indicated that low single doses (5 to 20 rad) of Fe 56 or Ar 40 particles are cataractogenic at 11 to 18 months after irradiation; onset and density of the opacification are dose related and cataract density (grade) at 9, 11, 13, and 16 months after irradiation shows partial linear energy transfer dependence. The severity of cataracts is reduced significantly when 417 rad of Co 60 gamma radiation is given in 24 weekly 17 rad fractions compared to giving this radiation as a single dose, but cataract severity is not reduced by fractionation of C12 doses over 24 weeks.

Ainsworth, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Lateral distribution on charged particles in EAS

Lateral distribution of charged particles which allow for the finiteness of energy gamma-quanta, the inhomogeneity of the atmosphere and the experimental selection of EAS are needed to interpret experimental data. The effects of finiteness of energy of gamma-quanta which produce the partial electron-photon cascades were considered by substituting K R sub m instead of R sub m in NKG approximation where K was found to be 0.56 from comparison with the experimental data. New results on the lateral distribution of electrons in the partial cascades from gamma-quanta were obtained. It is shown that the coefficient K can be regarded as a constant. The last approximation of K was found to be most adequate when compared with the experimental data. The inhomogeneity of the atmosphere, muons and experimental selection are considered. The calculation of Ne are extended from 100,000 to 10 million for sea level and for Akeno level.

Dedenko, L. G.↗