Preservation of a Dust Crystal as it Falls in an Afterglow Plasma

In an experiment, the power that sustains a plasma was extinguished, so that microspheres, which had been levitated, fell downward toward a lower electrode. At the beginning of their fall, the microspheres were self-organized with a crystalline structure. This structure was found to be preserved as the microspheres accelerated all the way to the lower electrode. Although microspheres had, in this afterglow plasma, large positive charges of 12,500 e, their interparticle repulsion was unable to significantly alter the crystalline arrangement of the microspheres, as they fell. After their impact on the lower electrode, the microspheres bounced upward, and only then was the crystalline structure lost.

Automated summary

In an experiment, microspheres that were levitated in a plasma fell downward towards a lower electrode after the power sustaining the plasma was extinguished. The microspheres maintained a crystalline structure during their fall, preserving it even as they accelerated towards the lower electrode. The crystalline structure was only lost after impacting the lower electrode, causing the microspheres to bounce upward.