Neutral Gas Plasma Interactions and Critical Ionization Velocity Phenomena.
Abstract
The interplay of collisional and collisionless phenomena in the interaction of a magnetoplasma streaming through neutral gas produces some of the most fascinating plasma physics phenomena. A key notion controlling such interactions is the existence of a critical velocity (U sub c) effect postulated in an ad hoc fashion by Alfven, in his model of the formation of the solar system. According to Alfven's postulate, whenever the relative velocity between a neutral gas and a streaming magnetoplasma exceeds a value U sub c identical with Square root of (2Esub i/M), where E sub i is the ionization energy and M the mass of the neutral atoms, rapid ionization and anomalous momentum coupling occurs. Guided by recent laboratory and space experiments and plasma physics theory we present the basic plasma physics underlying the interaction. This is followed by a discussion of its relevance to the formation of the solar system and cometary tails, its controlling effect on plasma centrifuges and homopolar generators, and the fascinating possibility that critical velocity phenomena are controlling the space shuttle environment, transforming it into an artificial comet. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 11, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA139233
Entities
People
- K. Papadopoulos
Organizations
- University of Maryland