Clusters as a diagnostics tool for gas flows

The example of a gas flowing through an orifice into the surrounding rarefied space is used to demonstrate the possibility of using clusters for diagnosing gas flows. For the conditions studied (it takes a cluster velocity about the same time to relax to the gas velocity as it does to reach the orifice), information on the flow parameters inside the chamber is obtained from the measurement of the cluster drift velocity after the passage through an orifice for various gas consumptions. Other possible uses of clusters in gas flow diagnostics are discussed as well.