Conversations on electric and magnetic fields in the cosmos / Eugene N. Parker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parker, E. N. (Eugene Newman), 1927-2022.

Series:

Princeton series in astrophysics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Plasma electrodynamics.

Electromagnetic fields.

Maxwell equations.

Electromagnetic theory.

Physical Description:

ix, 178 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2007]

Summary:

Today's Standard textbooks treat the theoretical structure of electric and magnetic fields, but their emphasis is on electromagnetic radiation and static electric and magnetic fields. In this book, Eugene Parker provides advanced graduate students and researchers with a much-needed complement to existing texts, one that discusses the dynamic electromagnetism of the cosmos-that is, the vast magnetic fields that are carried bodily in the swirling ionized gases of stars and galaxies and throughout intergalactic space.

Parker is arguably the world's leading authority on solar wind and the effects of magnetic fields in the heliosphere, and his originality of thought and distinctive approach to physics are very much in evidence here. Seeking to enrich discussions in Standard texts and correct misconceptions about the dynamics of these large-scale fields, Parker engages readers in a series of "conversations" that are at times anecdotal and even entertaining without ever sacrificing theoretical rigor. The dynamics he describes represents the Maxwell stresses of the magnetic field working against the pressure and inertia of the bulk motion of ionized gases, characterized in terms of the magnetic field and gas velocity. Parker shows how this dynamic interaction cannot be fully expressed in terms of the electric current and electric field. Conservations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos goes back to basics to explain why classical hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics are inescapable, even in the deepest reaches of space.

Contents:

1.2 Electromagnetic Field Equations 3

1.3 Electrical Neutrality 7

1.4 Electric Charge and Magnetic Field Dominance 12

2 Electric Fields 15

2.2 Definition of Charge and Field 16

2.3 Concept of Electric Field 17

2.4 Physical Reality of Electric Field 20

2.5 Electric Field Pressure 22

3 Magnetic Fields 25

3.2 Experimental Connection 26

3.3 Differential Form of Ampere's Law 27

3.4 Energy and Stress 29

3.5 Detecting a Magnetic Field 32

4 Field Lines 37

4.2 The Optical Analogy 39

5 Maxwell's Equations 43

6 Maxwell and Poynting 48

6.1 Poynting's Momentum and Energy Theorems 48

6.2 Applications 52

6.3 Electric and Magnetic Fields in Matter 52

6.4 SI Units 55

6.5 Systems of Units 59

6.6 Chaucer Units 63

7 Moving Reference Frames 65

7.1 Lorentz Transformations 65

7.2 Electric Fields in the Laboratory 66

7.3 Occam's Razor and the Tree in the Forest 67

7.4 Electric Field in a Moving Plasma 68

7.5 Net Charge in a Swirling Plasma 71

8 Hydrodynamics 74

8.2 Derivation of the HD Equations 76

8.3 The Pressure Tensor 79

8.4 Pressure Variation in Uniform Dilatations 82

8.5 Shear Flow 85

8.6 Effects of Collisions 86

8.7 Off-diagonal Terms and Viscosity 89

9 Magnetohydrodynamics 92

9.2 Diffusion and Dissipation 96

9.3 Application of Magnetic Diffusion 98

9.5 Partially Ionized Gases 102

9.6 An Electric Current to Satisfy Ampere 108

9.7 Partiele Motion Along B 114

9.8 Time-varying Magnetic Field 119

10 Singular Properties of the Maxwell Stress Tensor 123

10.1 Magnetic Equilibrium 123

10.2 Calculation of the Equilibrium Field 128

10.3 Equilibrium in Stretched Field 129

10.4 Resolving the Contradiction 132

10.5 Formation of TDs 133

10.6 Rapid Reconnection at an Incipient TD 137

10.7 Quasi-steady Dissipation at a TD 142

11.2 Electric Circuit Analogy 148

11.3 A Simple Example of an Electric Circuit 149

11.4 Popular Electric and Magnetic Fields 154

Appendix A Electrostatically Driven Expansion of the Universe 157

Appendix B Relaxation of Electric Charge Inhomogeneity 159

Appendix C Imposition of a Large-scale Electric Field 162

Appendix D Electric Charge Density in an Electric Field 165

Appendix E The Transverse Invariant w[subscript n][superscript 2]/B 167

Appendix F Blocking the Flow of Electric Current 169.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [173]-178) and index.

ISBN:

0691128405

9780691128405

0691128413

9780691128412

OCLC:

70707945

Online:

Publisher description