One Project - Four Minds

As part of the talented student program, we welcome four students who are currently studying second year and third year physics in participating in research at Complex Plasma Laboratory for 3 months period..

Michael Barwick (see image) will be looking at the differences in the properties in cluster rotation with different size particles (6.21 microns and 2.71 microns diameter MF dust). This will be an extension of the cluster rotation project currently being investigated here at CPL.

Cameron Ford (see image) will be investigating in the stability of dust clusters in various experimental conditions. This investigation not only can verify the current theory on the prediction of the metastable state of cluster structural configuration, moreover the magnitude of the interparticle force and hence the radial electric field of confinement potential can be obtained in such analysis.

Nathan Page (see image) will be performing simulations for our current explanation model on the angular velocity saturation in cluster rotation. The result is important as it will give us a better understanding of the nature of the driving mechanism for crystal rotation.

And finally, as a collaboration work with the fusion plasma project at the University of Sydney, Peter Moore (see image) will be working on a series of experment using dust particles as a diagnostic tool to measure the conditions for electrostatic confinement plasma.

We will be reporting their investigation results after this 3 months time.

 

Felix Cheung

15/08/2003