Discussion of the Pioneer 11 observations of the F ring of saturn

The photopolarimetric and charged particle data from the Pioneer 11 Saturn encounter were used as diagnostic tools in a preliminary analysis of the physical nature of the F ring of Saturn. It is argued that the F ring may have two components, with the outer one composed of solid particles of centimetre-diameter and the inner one of micrometre-sized dust particles. Also, the outer component as scanned by the charged particle detectors may have two rings instead of one. The double-ring option, if verified, could have interesting implications for the dynamical origin of the planetary ring systems.