A Plasma Formulary For Physics Technology And Astrophysics

Plasma physics has matured rapidly as a discipline, and now touches on many different research areas, including manufacturing processes. This collection of fundamental formulae and definitions in plasma physics is vital to anyone with an interest in plasmas or ionized gases, whether in physics, astronomy or engineering. Both theorists and experimentalists will find this book useful, as it incorporates the latest results and findings. The text treats astrophysical plasmas, fusion plasmas, industrial plasmas and low temperature plasmas as aspects of the same discipline - a unique approach made possible by the abbreviated nature of a formulary.

Plasmaphysik hat sich in den letzen Jahren rapide entwickelt und Einfluss auf verschiedene andere Forschungsgebiete in Physik, Chemie und Astrophysik, aber auch in der industriellen Praxis gewonnen. An all jene, die sich mit Plasmen oder ionisierten Gasen beschäftigen, wendet sich diese Nachschlagewerk: Es bietet eine kompakte, übersichtliche Zusammenstellung grundlegender Formeln und Definitionen, illustriert durch Tabellen und Abbildungen. Auf langwierige Ableitungen wird verzichtet; ein mathematischer Anhang vermittelt die wichtigsten verwendeten Methoden. Ein Literaturverzeichnis auf dem neuesten Stand gibt Anregungen zum tieferen Eindringen in die Materie. Alle Aspekte der Plasmaphysik werden erfasst, inklusive Fusionsplasma - ein unverzichtbares Nachschlagewerk für Physiker, Astrophysiker und Ingenieure.

Physicists continue to make new discoveries and gain new insights, which not only broaden and deepen our understanding of the physical world but also bring more concrete benefits to society as the basis for new technologies and products.

The NRL Plasma Formulary originated more than 25 years ago and has been revised several times since.

Most of the visible matter in the universe exists in the plasma state. Plasmas are of major importance for space physics, solar physics, and astrophysics. On Earth they are essential for magnetic controlled thermonuclear fusion. This textbook collects lecture notes from a one-semester course taught at the K.U. Leuven to advanced undergraduate students in applied mathematics and physics. A particular strength of this book is that it provides a low threshold introduction to plasmas with an emphasis on first principles and fundamental concepts and properties. The discussion of plasma models is to a large extent limited to Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) with its merits and limitations clearly explained. MHD provides the students on their first encounter with plasmas, with a powerful plasma model that they can link to familiar classic fluid dynamics. The solar wind is studied as an example of hydrodynamics and MHD at work in solar physics and astrophysics.

This book is an outgrowth of courses in plasma physics which I have taught at Kiel University for many years. During this time I have tried to convince my students that plasmas as different as gas dicharges, fusion plasmas and space plasmas can be described in a uni ed way by simple models. The challenge in teaching plasma physics is its apparent complexity. The wealth of plasma phenomena found in so diverse elds makes it quite different from atomic physics, where atomic structure, spectral lines and chemical binding can all be derived from a single equation—the Schrödinger equation. I positively accept the variety of plasmas and refrain from subdividing plasma physics into the traditional, but arti cially separated elds, of hot, cold and space plasmas. This is why I like to confront my students, and the readers of this book, with examples from so many elds. By this approach, I believe, they will be able to become discoverers who can see the commonality between a falling apple and planetary motion. As an experimentalist, I am convinced that plasma physics can be best understood from a bottom-up approach with many illustrating examples that give the students con dence in their understanding of plasma processes. The theoretical framework of plasma physics can then be introduced in several steps of re nement. In the end, the student (or reader) will see that there is something like the Schrödinger equation, namely the Vlasov-Maxwell model of plasmas, from which nearly all phenomena in collisionless plasmas can be derived.

Usually called the "fourth state of matter," plasmas make up more than 99% of known material. In usual terminology, this term generally refers to partially or totally ionized gas and covers a large number of topics with very different characteristics and behaviors. Over the last few decades, the physics and engineering of plasmas was experiencing a renewed interest, essentially born of a series of important applications such as thin-layer deposition, surface treatment, isotopic separation, integrated circuit etchings, medicine, etc. Plasma Science