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Chapter 2: Basic Concepts and Parameters of Plasma Physics: KT T T Ne N
Chapter 2: Basic Concepts and Parameters of Plasma Physics: KT T T Ne N
• The Debye length is the distance over which electrostatic fields due to
charge imbalance are screened out by collective effects
• Consider the effects of inserting a small charged (say positive) “ball” into
the plasma– this will attract a cloud of electrons which will screen out
the effects of the charge. This has finite size due to thermal agitation. This
effect is called Debye shielding.
Derivation 2.1 – Debye length
kT
12 12
T
D 0 2 e 69 e m (Te in K)
ne n
• The Debye length is the length-scale for which thermal energy balances
electrostatic energy (see derivation)
• The Debye length is usually “small” (see Example Sheet)
• On length-scales L large compared with the Debye length, the plasma is
quasi-neutral – the electron density and ion density are almost equal
with common plasma density n
ni ne n
• Therefore usually we do NOT need to solve Poisson’s equation
1
2 e ni ne 0
0
(except in “sheath” near a wall or object)
• But small charge imbalances still give important electromagnetic forces!
• The plasma parameter is the number of particles in a Debye sphere (a
sphere of radius λD )
4
N D D3 n 1.38 106 Te3 2 n 1 2 (Te in K)
3
Criterion for a plasma: an ionised-gas is usually only regarded as a plasma if
N D 1
- then collective behaviour dominates
Range of plasma parameters and Debye length
Plasma oscillations and plasma frequency
• Consider a uniform plasma in
which the electrons are displaced
with respect to the ions – this will
create an electric field and hence E→
a restoring force → plasma
oscillations
Derivation 2.2 These oscillations
have a frequency given by the
plasma frequency
12
ne
2
p
0 e
m
• This gives the frequency in Hertz
of
f p 8.9 n Hz (n in m-3 )
Plasma frequency
Ex If density is 1018 m-3 , frequency is about 9 GHz. Radiation from plasma
oscillations usually in microwave range
Plasma oscillations
observed near the
heliopause by
Voyager 1
Collisions
• Ions and electrons in a plasma may undergo collisions with a neutral
background gas (in weakly-ionised plasma) or with other charged particles
(Coulomb collisions – in fully-ionised plasma)
• Coulomb collisions involve long-range interactions through electric fields –
operate at much larger distances than particle radii and are velocity dependent
– small-angle deflections are most probable
• In a plasma, Coulomb forces are screened by Debye shielding – collisions are
mainly a collective effect (combination of many small-angle deflections – over
range of impact parameters up to Debye length)
Derivation 2.3 Approximate formulae for mean-free-path and collision frequency
for electron-ion collisions
2
Mean-free-path 32 2 1 1 T 2
1 T (eV)
ei
2 e 17
kT 3 10 m
ln ne4 ln n m-3
e
n
WIND satellite –
monitors solar wind
upstream of Earth –
composition,
particle energies,
magnetic field,
radio and plasma THEMIS spacecraft and orbits
waves…
EISCAT Svalbard radar
SDO – Solar
Dynamics
Observatory
Hinode – studying solar atmosphere –
including XRT (X-ray telescope) and
SOT (Solar Optical Telescope) and EIS
(EUV Imaging Spectrometer)
Solar
photospheric
magnetogram
from Kitt Peak
telescope
Solar corona in X-
rays from Hinode
X-ray Telescope
Radio
emission from
interplanetary
shock wave –
WIND/waves
instrument
http://www.springerlink.com/content/nr0837 Chapter 2
http://www.iter.org/
http://www.jet.efda.org/
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://solar-b.nao.ac.jp/index_e.shtml