On the charging of a dust particle immersed in a plasma: theory and experiment

A review is given of the theory of charging of a dust particle according to the Orbital Motion Limited (OML) theory. This is followed by a summary of a more complete orbital theory that includes the concept of an absorption radius, or effective potential barrier, for the positive ions. Measurements of the charge acquired by a dust particle are then described, using the method of damped dust oscillations employed at Oxford.