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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Plasma heating, electric fields and plasma flow by electron beam ionospheric injection

The electric fields and the floating potentials of a Plasma Diagnostics Payload (PDP) located near a powerful electron beam injected from a large sounding rocket into the auroral zone ionosphere have been studied. As the PDP drifted away from the beam laterally, it surveyed a region of hot plasma extending nearly to 60 m radius. Large polarization electric fields transverse to B were imbedded in this hot plasma, which displayed large ELF wave variations and also an average pattern which has led to a model of the plasma flow about the negative line potential of the beam resembling a hydrodynamic vortex in a uniform flow field. Most of the present results are derived from the ECHO 6 sounding rocket mission.

Winckler, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Interaction of field-aligned cold plasma flows with an equatorially-trapped hot plasma - Electrostatic shock formation

Effects of equatorially trapped hot plasma on the highly supersonic cold-plasma flow occurring during early stage plasmaspheric refilling are studied by means of numerical simulations. It is shown that the equatorially trapped hot ions set up a potential barrier for the cold ion beams and facilitate formation of electrostatic shocks by reflecting them from the equatorial region. Simulations with and without the hot plasma show different flow properties; the formation of electrostatic shocks occur only in the former case. The simulation with the hot plasma also reveals that the magnetic trapping in conjunction with the evolution of the electrostatic potential barrier produces ion velocity distribution functions consisting of a cold core and a hot ring in the perpendicular velocity. Such a distribution function provides a source of free energy for equatorial waves. The corresponding electron population is warm and field-aligned.

Singh, Nagendra↗
NASA NTRS1994

Plasma arc welding torch having means for vortexing plasma gas exiting the welding torch

A plasma arc welding torch is described wherein a plasma gas is directed through the body of the welding torch and out of the body across the tip of the welding electrode disposed at the forward end of the body. The plasma gas is provided with a vortexing motion prior to exiting the body by a vortex motion imparting member which is mounted in an orifice housing member and carried in the forward portion of the torch body. The orifice housing member is provided with an orifice of an predetermined diameter through which the electric arc and the plasma gas exits.

Rybicki, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Instrument technology for magnetosphere plasma imaging from high Earth orbit. Design of a radio plasma sounder

The use of radio sounding techniques for the study of the ionospheric plasma dates back to G. Briet and M. A. Tuve in 1926. Ground based swept frequency sounders can monitor the electron number density (N(sub e)) as a function of height (the N(sub e) profile). These early instruments evolved into a global network that produced high-resolution displays of echo time delay vs frequency on 35-mm film. These instruments provided the foundation for the success of the International Geophysical Year (1958). The Alouette and International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS) programs pioneered the used of spaceborne, swept frequency sounders to obtain N(sub e) profiles of the topside of the ionosphere, from a position above the electron density maximum. Repeated measurements during the orbit produced an orbital plane contour which routinely provided density measurements to within 10%. The Alouette/ISIS experience also showed that even with a high powered transmitter (compared to the low power sounder possible today) a radio sounder can be compatible with other imaging instruments on the same satellite. Digital technology was used on later spacecraft developed by the Japanese (the EXOS C and D) and the Soviets (Intercosmos 19 and Cosmos 1809). However, a full coherent pulse compression and spectral integrating capability, such as exist today for ground-based sounders (Reinisch et al., 1992), has never been put into space. NASA's 1990 Space Physics Strategy Implementation Study "The NASA Space Physics Program from 1995 to 2010" suggested using radio sounders to study the plasmasphere and the magnetopause and its boundary layers (Green and Fung, 1993). Both the magnetopause and plasmasphere, as well as the cusp and boundary layers, can be observed by a radio sounder in a high-inclination polar orbit with an apogee greater than 6 R(sub e) (Reiff et al., 1994; Calvert et al., 1995). Magnetospheric radio sounding from space will provide remote density measurements of unprecedented precision and coverage in the plasmasphere, inner magnetosphere and magnetopause, from which the structure, inter-relationship, and variations of different plasma regions can be determined (Armstrong Johnson, 1995). A space-borne Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) could provide a unique global view of the magnetosphere revealing the underlying structure of remote plasma regions, thereby providing a framework for the interpretation of images obtained by other techniques as identified in the technical areas TA1 to TA4 in the MSFC NRA8-8.

Haines, D. Mark↗
NASA NTRS2005

Ion Composition in Saturn's Plasma Environment: Early Results from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer

Prior to Cassini s arrival at Saturn, most of what was known about the composition of the plasma in Saturn s environment was derived from limited measurements by Pioneer 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 in 1979-1981[1-3]. The measurements reported here were made by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) [4] during the first two Cassini orbits, including the closest approach to Saturn and the rings during the tour, and a close flyby of Titan. The CAPS instrument resolves ion energy/charge from 1 V to 50 kV and ion mass/charge from 1 to approx.100 amu/e, and it measures electron energy from 1 eV to 28 keV. Initial composition measurements of Saturn s magnetosphere show that protons dominate outside approx.8 R(sub s), while inside this radius the plasma is dominated by a mix of water-derived ions and N(+). Over the A and B rings a plasma layer is observed composed of O2(+) and O(+) . The close passage near Titan shows a rich network of both positive and negative molecular ions. We report preliminary analysis of these and other composition findings.

Reisenfeld, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Modeling of the Convection and Interaction of Ring Current, Plasmaspheric and Plasma Sheet Plasmas in the Inner Magnetosphere

Distinctive sources of ions reside in the plasmasphere, plasmasheet, and ring current regions at discrete energies constitute the major plasma populations in the inner/middle magnetosphere. They contribute to the electrodynamics of the ionosphere-magnetosphere system as important carriers of the global current system, in triggering; geomagnetic storm and substorms, as well as critical components of plasma instabilities such as reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetospheric boundaries. Our preliminary analysis of in-situ measurements shoves the complexity of the plasmas pitch angle distributions at particularly the cold and warm plasmas, vary dramatically at different local times and radial distances from the Earth in response to changes in solar wind condition and Dst index. Using an MHD-ring current coupled code, we model the convection and interaction of cold, warm and energetic ions of plasmaspheric, plasmasheet, and ring current origins in the inner magnetosphere. We compare our simulation results with in-situ and remotely sensed measurements from recent instrumentation on Geotail, Cluster, THEMIS, and TWINS spacecraft.

Fok, Mei-Ching↗
NASA NTRS2011

C/NOFS Satellite Electric Field and Plasma Density Observations of Plasma Instabilities Below the Equatorial F-Peak -- Evidence for Approximately 500 km-Scale Spread-F "Precursor" Waves Driven by Zonal Shear Flow and km-Scale, Narrow-Banded Irregularities

As solar activity has increased, the ionosphere F-peak has been elevated on numerous occasions above the C/NOFS satellite perigee of 400km. In particular, during the month of April, 2011, the satellite consistently journeyed below the F-peak whenever the orbit was in the region of the South Atlantic anomaly after sunset. During these passes, data from the electric field and plasma density probes on the satellite have revealed two types of instabilities which had not previously been observed in the C/NOFS data set (to our knowledge): The first is evidence for 400-500km-scale bottomside "undulations" that appear in the density and electric field data. In one case, these large scale waves are associated with a strong shear in the zonal E x B flow, as evidenced by variations in the meridional (outward) electric fields observed above and below the F-peak. These undulations are devoid of smaller scale structures in the early evening, yet appear at later local times along the same orbit associated with fully-developed spread-F with smaller scale structures. This suggests that they may be precursor waves for spread-F, driven by a collisional shear instability, following ideas advanced previously by researchers using data from the Jicamarca radar. A second new result (for C/NOFS) is the appearance of km-scale irregularities that are a common feature in the electric field and plasma density data that also appear when the satellite is below the F -peak at night. The vector electric field instrument on C/NOFS clearly shows that the electric field component of these waves is strongest in the zonal direction. These waves are strongly correlated with simultaneous observations of plasma density oscillations and appear both with, and without, evidence of larger-scale spread-F depletions. These km-scale, quasi-coherent waves strongly resemble the bottomside, sinusoidal irregularities reported in the Atmosphere Explorer satellite data set by Valladares et al. [JGR, 88, 8025, 1983]. We interpret these new observations in terms of fundamental plasma instabilities associated with the unstable, nighttime equatorial ionosphere.

Pfaff, R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Observations of Low-Latitude Plasma Density Enhancements and their Associated Plasma Drifts

Plasma density structures are frequently encountered in the nighttime low-latitude ionosphere by probes on the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite. Of particular interest to us here are plasma density enhancements, which are typically observed +/- 15 deg away from the magnetic equator. The low inclination of the C/NOFS satellite offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine these structures and their associated electric fields and plasma velocities, including their field-aligned components, along an east-west trajectory. Among other observations, the data reveal a clear asymmetry in the velocity structure within and around these density enhancements. Previous observations have shown that the peak change in drift velocity associated with a density enhancement occurs simultaneously both perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic field, while the 1results in this paper show that the peak change in parallel fl ow typically occurs 25-100 km to the east of the peak perpendicular ow. We discuss this and other aspects of the observations in relation to the characteristics of the plasma depletions formed near the magnetic equator detected by the same probes on the C/NOFS satellite and to previous observations and theories.

Klenzing, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1971

High density plasma gun generates plasmas at 190 kilometers per second

Gun has thin metal foil disc which positions or localizes gas to be ionized during electrical discharge cycle, overcoming major limiting factor in obtaining such plasmas. Expanding plasma front travels at 190 km/sec, compared to plasmas of 50 to 60 km/sec previously achieved.

Espy, P. N.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Pioneer 9 plasma wave and solar plasma measurements for the August 1972 storm period

The solar disturbances of August 1972 produced large-scale solar wind perturbations that were detected by the Pioneer 9 plasma probe, electric field detector, and magnetometer for an extended time period commencing early on August 3. During this ten-day interval the interplanetary plasma parameters at r approximately equal 0.8 AU varied over unusually wide ranges, so that the conditions for generation of high and low VLF wave levels could be identified fairly readily. It is demonstrated that no measurable signals were detected in the broadband electric field channel (sensitive to waves with f greater than or equal to 100 Hz in the spacecraft frame of reference) unless the proton density was high enough to yield a proton plasma frequency with f greater than or about equal to 100 Hz. The analysis suggests that waves related to ion acoustic oscillations were detected throughout the extended storm period.

Scarf, F. L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Ion sheath effects on RF plasma probes - Experimental results in laboratory plasmas

Laboratory work dealing with the frequency characteristic of the plasma impedance of spherical and cylindrical electrode systems is reported. The influence of the ion sheath on various features of the impedance characteristic is emphasized. Those features are the series and parallel resonance as well as additional resonances due to the excitation of electroacoustic and cyclotron harmonic waves. The dependence of the series and parallel resonances on dc biasing leads to a method of determining the ion sheath capacity for a cylindrical electrode system. The obtained values agree fairly well with those obtained from a theoretical model for the density and potential distribution in the sheath of a cylindrical sensor aligned with a supersonic plasma flow. The amplitude of resonances due to excitation of longitudinal plasma waves (electroacoustic and cyclotron harmonic) is reduced or even vanishes for sufficiently negative dc bias. Positive bias first leads to an increased amplitude up to a certain dc bias value above which, however, the amplitude decreases again due to electron absorption at the sensor surface.

Kist, R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Spontaneous emission near the electron plasma frequency in a plasma with a runaway electron tail

Spontaneous emission of radiation with frequencies near the electron plasma frequency is studied for a plasma which consists of both thermal and runaway electrons. It is found that a substantial enhancement of the spontaneous radiation intensity can occur in this frequency regime via a Cherenkov resonance with the runaway electrons. Numerical analysis indicates that, for reasonable estimates of densities and energies, the plasma-frequency radiation can attain levels greater than the peak thermal emission at the second gyroharmonic.

Freund, H. P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Preliminary results on the plasma environment of Saturn from the Pioneer 11 plasma analyzer experiment

The Ames Research Center Pioneer 11 plasma analyzer experiment provided measurements of the solar wind interaction with Saturn and the character of the plasma environment within Saturn's magnetosphere. It is shown that Saturn has a detached bow shock wave and magnetopause quite similar to those at earth and Jupiter. The scale size of the interaction region for Saturn is roughly one-third that at Jupiter, but Saturn's magnetosphere is equally responsive to changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure. Saturn's outer magnetosphere is inflated, as evidenced by the observation of large fluxes of corotating plasma. It is postulated that Saturn's magnetosphere may undergo a large expansion when the solar wind pressure is greatly diminished by the presence of Jupiter's extended magnetospheric tail when the two planets are approximately aligned along the same solar radial vector.

Wolfe, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Observations of warm plasma in the dayside plasma trough at geosynchronous orbit

Positive ions in the energy range E = 3-50 eV have been measured on the dayside at geosynchronous orbit with the University of California at San Diego auroral particles experiment on ATS 6. It is found that the near-equatorial plasma trough contains a warm plasma component with a relatively stable temperature 11 eV and a low 'isotropic component' of density typically in the range 0.1-0.4 ion/cc. The pitch angle distributions of these warm ions are typically field-aligned, indicating an ionospheric origin, and have pitch angle half widths in the range 20-40 deg. Pancake and conical distributions are also observed. Abrupt enhancements of the plasma density to 1-10 ions/cc, or more, are seen in the late afternoon and last from several minutes to a few hours.

Horwitz, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The plasma wake of mesosonic conducting bodies. I - An experimental parametric study of ion focusing by the plasma sheath

The experimental investigation considered is concerned with the deflection of ion streams resulting from the interaction of conducting test bodies with an unmagnetized, mesosonic (supersonic with respect to ions but subsonic with respect to electrons) plasma stream. The investigation is, therefore, limited to plasma-electrostatic interactions. The experimental conditions are similar to those of the spacecraft-ionospheric interaction in that the ionic mass and number density, the electron temperature, and the plasma drift velocity ranges include values appropriate for small satellites or diagnostic probes at 200 to 400 km altitude. The study provides direct observations of deflected ion streams for cylindrical test bodies and gives a detailed description of the effects of the governing, dimensionless parameter ratios obtained from the steady-state, nonmagnetic Maxwell-Vlasov system of equations.

Stone, N. H.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A mechanism for plasma waves at the harmonics of the plasma frequency foreshock boundary

A bump-on-tail unstable reduced velocity distribution, constructed from data obtained at the upstream boundary of the electron foreshock by the GSFC electron spectrometer experiment on the ISEE-1 satellite, is used as the initial plasma state for a numerical integration of the 1D-Vlasov-Maxwell system of equations. The integration is carried through the growth of the instability, beyond its saturation, and well into the stabilized plasma regime. A power spectrum computed for the electric field of the stabilized plasma is dominated by a narrow peak at the Bohm-Gross frequency of the unstable field mode but also contains significant power at the harmonics of the Bohm-Gross frequency. The harmonic power is in sharp peaks which are split into closely spaced doublets. The fundamental peak at the Bohm-Gross frequency is split into a closely spaced triplet. The mechanism for excitation of the second harmonic is shown to be second order wave-wave coupling.

Klimas, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Recent observations of beam plasma interactions in the ionosphere and a comparison with laboratory studies of the beam plasma discharge

Experimental results from an electron beam injection rocket flight (27:010 AE) launched into an active aurora are summarized. The rocket carried an accelerator which injected programmed electron beams of less than 100 ma at 2 and 4 kV into the ionospheric plasma over the altitude range 120-240 km. A major objective of the experiment was the study of beam-plasma interactions and the possible identification of the ignition of the beam-plasma discharge (BPD) which had been intensively studied in the laboratory. A qualitative assessment of the data indicates that BPD ignition was produced by both 10 ma and Im beams at 2 and 4 kV. Many of the observed characteristics are similar to the BPD characteristics observed in the laboratory.

Bernstein, W.↗