| Term: | Potential |
| Definition: |
The work required per unit charge to move acharge from a reference point to a point at infinity (electric potential isdefined to be zero). The electric potential of a spacecraft is oftenreferred to as the "spacecraft potential". The spacecraft potential is theelectric potential of the spacecraft relative to the potential of the nearbyplasma. The spacecraft potential is non-zero because the spacecraft chargesto the level that the emitted photoelectron flux going to infinity isbalanced by the plasma electron flux to the spacecraft. |