ON PLASMA SHEATHS SURROUNDING COMPLEX SHAPES AS MEASURED USING ION-ACOUSTIC-WAVES

Experiments on the transient or ion-matrix sheath from 90-degrees convex and concave corners and randomly perturbed objects have been performed. Equi-phase contours of ion acoustic waves launched from metallic structures yield results that are in substantial agreement with a numerical simulation and, for the case of the corners, with recent numerical investigations. Differences can be attributed, in part, to inhomogeneities found in the experimental plasma.