6. 土星の環 : ダストプラズマラボ(<小特集>宇宙における微粒子プラズマ)
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概要
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Comets, planetary rings, exposed dusty surfaces, and the zodiacal dust cloud are all examples of environments where dusty plasma effects can influence the size spatial distributions of small grains. Simultaneously, dust often changes the composition, density and temperature of the plasma surrounding it. The dynamics of charged dust particles can be surprisingly complex and fundamentally different from the well understood limits of gravitationally dominated motions of neutral particles or the adiabatic motion of electrons and ions in electromagnetic fields that dominate gravity. In this review we focus on the rings of Saturn and discuss the formation of spokes (intermittent radial markings) in the dense B ring. Though spokes are an 'ethereal' phenomena, they triggered a fundamental shift in our understanding of the processes that shape planetary rings by forcing the recognition that gravity alone cannot explain all the observations.
- 2006-02-25