Abstract Particles of 0.2 to 10 μm size and of various materials were suspended in an electrodynamic quadrupole and charged by electron and ion beams of energies up to 20 keV and 5 keV, respectively. It was found that the charge of glass particles of 0.2 to 2 μm size charged by electrons of energy 1 to 20 keV was always positive. The electrostatic fragmentation of loosely bound Al 2 O 3 particles of 1 to 10 μm size charged by ions was observed and tensile strength range from 10 3 to 10 5 Pa has been derived. The found dependence of the tensile strength on the particle size can be well fitted by an inverse square power law. We have started construction of an improved laboratory set-up in which instrumental effects on charging processes will be minimized. This set-up should make it possible to study the fragmentation of particles from more compact materials and over an extended range of sizes.
[1]
E. Whipple,et al.
Potentials of surfaces in space
,
1981
.
[2]
H. Boehnhardt,et al.
Electrostatic charging and fragmentation of dust near P/Giacobini-Zinner and P/Halley
,
1988
.
[3]
J. Borovsky,et al.
Secondary electron yields of solar system ices
,
1992
.
[4]
E. Grün,et al.
Micrometeoroids within ten Earth radii
,
1979
.
[5]
E. Grün,et al.
Methods, Difficulties, and First Results in Laboratory Simulation of Cosmic Dust Electric Charging
,
1991
.
[6]
E. Gruen,et al.
Dust-magnetosphere interactions
,
1984
.