Oscillatory particle motion observed in dusty plasma under microgravity

In an experiment aboard the International Space Station, performed using the PK-3 Plus instrument, a 13.56 MHz capacitively-coupled RF discharge was formed between parallel-plate electrodes. Neon gas at 0.2 Torr was partially ionized by applying 40 Volt peak-to-peak RF potentials to the symmetrically-driven electrodes. A mechanical shaker introduced 6.8-micron diameter polymer microspheres, or dust, into the plasma. The microspheres became highly charged. In this way a dusty plasma (also known as a complex plasma) was formed. Using video cameras and illumination by a sheet of laser light, the suspension of microparticles was imaged in situ.