Radiation pressure forces on micrometric particles – experiment vs. theory
Authors:
M. Kocifaj
Description:
The primary intention of the project is to experimentally verify the theoretically derived effect of radiation pressure exerted on micrometer dust. In 2008, set of measurements was made in the laboratories of the German partner. It has been shown that photophoresis becomes a dominant effect under moderate air pressure conditions, thus prohibiting the evaluation of radiation pressure effects. Therefore we reduced the air pressure significantly (in two orders of magnitude) and radiation pressure effects become dominant. After interaction with laser radiation the levitating particles jumped to different directions - just as predicted theoretically. This effect strongly depends on the shape, size and chemical composition of these particles. Using the results of relativistically covariant formulation we were able to derive the inequalities containing the extinction, absorption and scattering cross sections, These results will be compared with detailed numerical calculations based on Maxwell's theory and then also verified experimentally.
Reference:
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. Vol. 390, no. 4 (2008), p. 1491-1495
SK
SAS
