| A method has been developed and used to obtain theoretical predictions of the current collected from a continuum, incompressible flowing low charge density plasma by an electrostatic probe having spherical or cylindrical symmetry. The solutions for the low density continuum case, i.e. with mean free path ;Computed charge densities and probe surface current densities are presented graphically. Computed probe characteristics are presented in graphical and tabular form. A listing is included of the Fortran programs used to obtain these results.;The numerical results show that: (1) For a probe at retarding potentials, the effects of the flow increase with potential, and the usual retarding potential method for temperature determination of electrons leads to large errors, (2) For small potentials, the effect of the flow is to smooth the "knee" of the probe characteristics and to render more imprecise the determination of the space potential. (3) At a large enough attracting potential, the linear dependence for probe current from stationary theory is recovered as one would expect. (4) The probe surface current densities become unsymmetrical when flow is increased. (5) Recirculation in the neutral wake behind the body has larger effects on downstream than upstream probe surface current density. (6) In the presence of flow, the profiles of net charge density can include several regions of alternating sign downstream of the probe. |
