MEASUREMENT OF PARTICLE CHARGE

• Main Authors: VOGEL, Robert, GLOSSOP, Benjamin Mark, JONES, Martin David, WEATHERALL, Eva
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 05.08.2020
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; PHYSICS; TESTING

A method of determining a charge of at least one test particle (as herein defined), comprising: applying one of an electric current or a voltage across an aperture connecting two chambers, whereby the chambers are at least partially filled with electrolyte and whereby the at least one test particle is suspended in the electrolyte of at least one of the chambers; measuring a value indicative of the other of the electric current or voltage across the aperture; determining a time interval between a first and a second point in time, the second point in time corresponding to a point in time when the measured current or voltage has reached a specific proportion of the measured current or voltage at the first point in time; and determining the charge of the at least one test particle by: determining a value indicative of an electrical velocity component of a total velocity of at least one calibration particle having a known charge, taking into account that the total velocity of the at least one calibration particle comprises a non zero-convective velocity component and the electrical velocity component; determining a value indicative of an electrical velocity component of a total velocity of the at least one test particle, taking into account that the total velocity of the at least one test particle comprises a non-zero convective-velocity component and the electrical velocity component; and using the determined values indicative of the electrical velocity components of the test particle and the calibration particle to calibrate the quantitative relationship between the charge of the at least one test particle and the determined time interval.