|
Plasma physics is the field of physics which studies the dynamic
behaviour of plasmas.
Briefly, it is the study of the statistical properties of a field of charged particles, called a plasma. Sometimes called "the
fourth state of matter" (besides solid, liquid, and gas), plasma in this context refers to a gas that has been subjected to
enough energy to dissociate atoms from their electrons (ionization), producing a cloud of ions and electrons. Because these
particles are ionized (charged), the gas behaves in a different fashion than neutral gas in, for instance, the presence of
electromagnetic fields.
A common fluid treatment of plasmas comes from a combination of the Navier Stokes Equations of fluid dynamics
and Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. The resulting set of equations, with appropriate approximations, is called
Magnetohydrodynamics (or MHD for short).
Plasma physics is important in astrophysics in that many astronomical objects including stars, accretion disks, nebula, and the interstellar medium consist of
plasma.
Fields of active research include (but of course are not limited to):
External Links
|