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Melting dynamics of a plasma crystal.

Author(s) : THOMAS H. M., MORFILL G. E.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Plasmas have long been regarded as the most disordered state of matter; nevertheless, a set of colloidal particles introduced into a charge-neutral plasma can spontaneously exhibit ordered crystalline structures (so-called "plasma crystals"). Such systems, which reach equilibrium very rapidly and can be easily tuned between their ordered and disordered states, are ideally suited for investigating the processes underlying the solid-to-liquid phase transition. The authors report the results of experiments on "flat" plasma crystals which suggest that the melting transition occurs through two fundamental intermediate stages. On melting, the crystal first enters a state characterized by islands of crystalline order, about which streams of particles flow. The crystalline regions then dissolve as the vibrational energy of the system increases, but this is accompanied by a temporary increase in orientational order before the system finally enters a disordered, liquid state.

Details

  • Original title: Melting dynamics of a plasma crystal.
  • Record ID : 1997-0132
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Nature - vol. 379 - n. 6568
  • Publication date: 1996/02/29
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.

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