Condensed Plasmas under Microgravity

Abstract

Experiments under microgravity conditions were carried out to study ``condensed'' (liquid and crystalline) states of a colloidal plasma (ions, electrons, and charged microspheres). Systems with $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{6}$ microspheres were produced. The observed systems represent new forms of matter---quasineutral, self-organized plasmas---the properties of which are largely unexplored. In contrast to laboratory measurements, the systems under microgravity are clearly three dimensional (as expected); they exhibit stable vortex flows, sometimes adjacent to crystalline regions, and a central ``void,'' free of microspheres.