Elongated Dusty Structures in a Glow Discharge Plasma

Abstract

An extended 3-D dusty structure was found in dc glow discharge plasma under conditions where gravity is important. The plasma-dust structure fills the whole length of a stratified positive column. In fact, the structure extends far beyond the limits of a plasma trap. The dusty plasma formation occupies the whole volume of luminescence of a positive column and consists of more than 6.5 million macroparticles. The diameter and length of the cylindrical dusty structure are 20 mm and 120 mm.