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Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions: near earth manifestations of the plasma universe
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Faelthammar, Carl-Gunne |
| Copyright Year | 1986 |
| Description | As the universe consists almost entirely of plasma, the understanding of astrophysical phenomena must depend critically on the understanding of how matter behaves in the plasma state. In situ observations in the near Earth cosmical plasma offer an excellent opportunity of gaining such understanding. The near Earth cosmical plasma not only covers vast ranges of density and temperature, but is the site of a rich variety of complex plasma physical processes which are activated as a results of the interactions between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. The geomagnetic field connects the ionosphere, tied by friction to the Earth, and the magnetosphere, dynamically coupled to the solar wind. This causes an exchange of energy an momentum between the two regions. The exchange is executed by magnetic-field-aligned electric currents, the so-called Birkeland currents. Both directly and indirectly (through instabilities and particle acceleration) these also lead to an exchange of plasma, which is selective and therefore causes chemical separation. Another essential aspect of the coupling is the role of electric fields, especially magnetic field aligned (parallel) electric fields, which have important consequences both for the dynamics of the coupling and, especially, for energization of charged particles. |
| File Size | 2074394 |
| Page Count | 54 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19870010653 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t03z34w76 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1986-10-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Plasma Physics Geomagnetism Earth Orbital Environments Field Aligned Currents Magnetosphere-ionosphere Coupling Plasma Interactions Plasma Density Space Plasmas Strongly Coupled Plasmas Earth Magnetosphere Birkeland Currents Plasma Currents Earth Ionosphere Cosmic Plasma Solar Wind Plasma Temperature Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
