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Cosmic Plasma Fundamentals

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Physics of the Plasma Universe

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Abstract

Plasma consists of electrically charged particles that respond collectively to electromagnetic forces. The charged particles are usually clouds or beams of electrons or ions, or a mixture of electrons and ions, but also can be charged grains or dust particles. Plasma is also created when a gas is brought to a temperature that is comparable to or higher than that in the interior of stars. At these temperatures, all light atoms are stripped of their electrons, and the gas is reduced to its constituent parts: positively charged bare nuclei and negatively charged free electrons. The name plasma is also properly applied to ionized gases at lower temperatures where a considerable fraction of neutral atoms or molecules are present.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, Los Alamos, NM, USA

    Anthony L. Peratt

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  1. Anthony L. Peratt
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Peratt, A.L. (1992). Cosmic Plasma Fundamentals. In: Physics of the Plasma Universe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2780-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2780-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7666-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2780-9

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