An apparatus was developed for containerless material processing in space. The apparatus was constructed of a sample supplier and recovery system, an electrode system for the sample levitation, observation system and power sources. The principle for the levitation was the appliance of an alternating current (ac) and a direct current (dc) electric field which is produced by a set of two dimensional quadrupole electrode and a sphere electrode couple respectively. The as field is for confinement of the sample and the dc field makes a Coulomb repulsion force to counterbalance to the gravity. The sample with a 10mm diameter, of which the diameter will satisfy a material experiment in space, levitated statically in a terrestrial experiment and the levitation characteristics were obtained on the applied voltage, frequency of power source, specific charge and levitation height. Furthermore, the levitation was analyzed theoretically and the qualitative coincidence was obtained on the motion and the levitation position. It was found that the combination of ac and dc voltage with this electrode system was an excellent for the stable levitation.
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