Abstract An ion beam technique to measure the DC electric field as well as the magnetic field in the ionosphere is being developed. A Lithium ion beam ejected from the spacecraft in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and some angle with the DC electric field returns to the origin after approximately one gyroperiod. There are two such directions, the beam ejected in one direction returns after a little longer time than the gyroperiod and the beam ejected in the other direction returns after a little shorter time than the gyroperiod. The deviation of the flight time of the beam from the gyroperiod gives the magnitude of the DC electric field and the two beam directions give the direction of the electric field. The magnetic field is given by making the average of the two flight times. A feasibility study of applying this technique to the measurement of the electric field and the magnetic field in the ionosphere is presented. A preliminary results of the laboratory test of the equipment is also given.
Ion beams as diagnostic tools—DC electric field measurement in the ionosphere
Advances in Space Research ; 8 , 1 ; 165-174
1988-01-01
10 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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