The Plasmasphere
Most of the mass of particles in server sky orbits is cold (<1eV) plasma, in the upper fringes of the atmosphere. The total mass of these particles is still very small. Here is the density versus radius:
{{ attachment:plasmasphere.png ]]
orbit |
Radius |
Lmin |
Lmax |
Densmin |
Densmax |
Volume |
Mass |
m288 |
12789 km |
1.93 |
2.14 |
4500/cm3 |
7000/cm3 |
1.8e12 km3 |
17000 kg |
m360 |
14441 km |
2.19 |
2.42 |
2500/cm3 |
4000/cm3 |
2.6e12 km3 |
14000 kg |
m480 |
16756 km |
2.55 |
2.79 |
1200/cm3 |
2500/cm3 |
3.5e12 km3 |
11000 kg |
A few thousand tons of thinsats will vastly increase the number of coulomb scattering centers.
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