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This research investigates the mechanisms behind instabilities in fully ionized plasma and their effects on currents.

July 1, 1958Physical Review Letters443 citations

Instability, Turbulence, and Conductivity in Current-Carrying Plasma

Key Points

This research investigates the mechanisms behind instabilities in fully ionized plasma and their effects on currents.
Mathematical exploration of collision dynamics in fully ionized plasma.
Analysis of both large-angle and small-angle collisions among particles.
Examination of energy conversion from directed to random fluctuations.
Identified that small-angle collisions lead to rapid growth of instabilities.
Demonstrated that directed energy is continually transformed into random fluctuation energy.
Found that this energy conversion dampens the motion of ions and electrons.

Abstract

In fully ionized plasma, close (large-angle) collisions between particles in appreciable relative motion are rare. However, collective Coulomb interactions (i.e., small-angle collisions) cause instabilities which grow so rapidly that relative motion of ions and electrons, i-.e., currents, are continually damped down by conversion of directed energy into random fluctuation energy. The mechanism of this phenomenon is explored mathematically. (L.T.W.)

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