Presentacion Física de Plasmas Unidad 1 Versión 12

Dr.
Iván Vargas Blanco

Científico Coordinador
Introduction
Introduction
Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Topics of this Course
Content Goals
Unid 1. Introduction Unid 1.
1. Occurrence of plasmas in 1. To Know the different plasmas

that occur in nature.
nature and in the universe. 2. To Define the concept of
2. Definition of plasma. plasma.
3. Understanding of the concept
3. Concept of temperature. of temperature and its use in
4. Debye shielding. plasmas.
4. To Explain the shielding of
5. The plasma parameter. Deybe
6. Criteria for a plasma. 5. To Distinguish the criteria that
define a plasma.
7. Applications of plasmas. 6. To Know the applications of
plasma.

What is Plasma?
Plasma
– Collection of charged particles that move freely.
– The density of positive and negative charged particles
is always the same (quasi-neutral).
➢ Partial or totally ionized gas.

Gaseous state Heating Plasma

What is Plasma?
•“Fourth state of matter”
•“Ionized at gas
high
temperature capable of
conducting electric currents”

Plasma and the states of matter
Solid Liquid Gas Plasma
http://www.balticnet-plasmatec.org/plasma-technology/
http://www.pyrogenesis.com/
The Universe is made of Plasma
• On earth, we are living in an exotic world:
solid state even liquids and neutral gas
• Ionized gases occurs in a huge parameter range
Plasma state is the common one

99% of the universe’s known matter is in plasma state!
What is Plasma?

An Example

Where Can We Find Plasma?
• 99 % of the universe is in
Plasma state.
• Lightning is an example of
natural plasma.

Most Representative Plasmas

Plasma is the source of
Charged species:
Electrons, ions
UV radiation
Reactive species
Radicals
Plasma
Visible Light
Other electromagnetic fields: Heat radiation

Stationary, HF, MW

The Temperature Concept
Small Scale
= mass = velocity = kinetic energy
The temperature is a measure

of the average translational Objects in thermal
kinetic energy of the gas equilibrium have the same
particles. temperature.
The temperature is a scalar quantity.
෍
(magnitude, not direction)
Plasma, Definitions and Classification
Thermal and non-thermal Plasmas

Non-thermal Thermal
Ions and neutral particles at a Electrons and heavy particles at

much lower temperature, while the same temperature and in
electrons are much "hotter“. thermal equilibrium.

Ionization
Electron released
Energy needed = ionization energy
Ionization Energies of the First Twenty Elements
Ionization Energy (v)
Atomic Number

Degree of Ionization
Absorption of an
Emission of a photon of visible light ultraviolet photon by the
by the phosphorus atom. phosphorus atom
Tube inside
Phosphor coated
Free electron
An electron collides
Electrode
with a mercury
atom causing the
electron to rise to a The electron returns
higher energy level to its original orbit
emitting an
ultraviolet photon
Convention of Atoms
Mercury Atom
Glass tube filled Excited Mercury Atom
with mercury vapor Phosphorus Atom
Exited Phosphorus Atom
The Saha equation, which tells us the amount of ionization
to be expected in a gas in thermal equilibrium:
Weakly ionized plasmas:
Fully ionized plasmas:

The Saha equation, which tells us the amount of ionization
to be expected in a gas in thermal equilibrium:
For ordinary air at room temperature, we may take:

•
•
• (for nitrogen)
when , the fractional ionization

predicted by Eq. [1-1] is ridiculously low:

Ionization Processes in a Plasma
Electron-impact ionization Radiative ionization

Recombination Processes in a Plasma
Three-body recombination Radiative recombination

Charge-exchange process in which an energetic ion takes an
electron from a cold neutral, thereby becoming an energetic neutral

What is Plasma?
A plasma is a quasi-neutral ionized gas which

shows collective behavior.
Consists of Negatively charged electrons,

positively (neg.) charged ions, (neutral atoms or
molecules).

Brief History of Plasma Physics
The British English chemist and

physicist, Sir William Crooke (1832-
1919), first described a "fourth state of
matter", which he called "radiant
matter", in a lecture delivered to the
British Association in Sheffield on Friday
22 August 1879, "Crookes already
realized in 1879 that that matter of a
discharged gas behaved unlike a
regular gas“.
“The phenomena in these exhausted

tubes reveal to physical science a new
world, a world where matter may exist in
a fourth state…”, Sir William Crooke
(1832-1919).
Irvine Langmuir (1881-957).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Langmuir
The term plasma (Greek: plasma) was introduced by
Irvine Langmuir (1928).
plasma = moldable substance
Langmuir worked in the 1920s with mercury arc

plasmas which filled the whole glass chamber.
Coworkers: Compton, Tonks, Mott-Smith, Jones, Child,
and Taylor
Mercury arc plasma

www.tigercom.dsl.pipex.com

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén

(30 May 1908 – 2 April 1995)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannes
▪ Hannes Alfven is widely known, as a father of the plasma

magnetohydrodynamics.
▪ He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves.
▪ He developed theories regarding the nature of the galactic magnetic field and
space plasmas.
▪ Prof. Alfven received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970 for “fundamental work and
discoveries in magnetohydrodynamics.” Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology
• Energy source for astrophysical plasmas is fusion energy of stars
(Eddington, Rutherford, Atkinson, Houtermans, 1919).
• Until 1950s hot plasmas ( ) existed in astrophysics only.
• Convenient to express temperatures in terms of thermal energy.
sun in x-ray light
FusEdWeb.Ilnl.gov/CPEP/
• Stars red
giants white
dwarfs
• Interstellar
medium

Extragalactic jets
Extensions of 105 light years

Disk galaxies with magnetized spirals
Rotate to hundreds of kms-1

Neutron Stars
Supernova Explosion Neutron Star
Small nuclei of 10 km in size with 1.5 solar masses

Interstellar Medium in Galaxies
particles per m3 and very hot
Fuente: Wikipedia

Interstellar Medium in Galaxies
particles per m3 and very hot
Highly magnetized medium with shear movements that compress,

stretch and twist the magnetic field into a highly collisional and highly
conductive plasma.
Intergalactic medium between
galaxies and galaxy clusters
Plasma heats up to temperatures of 105 K to 107 K

Range of Astrophysical Plasmas

The Plasma Environment of our Sun-Earth system
Photograph by Mayela López, newspaper La Nación.

The dynamic Sun
The Sun, like all stars, is

a dynamic star, always
active, always changing.
The more we learn about
it, the more we learn
about all stars.
Play: EITmain.mov
Where the action is
• Nuclear fusion occurs in the
Sun’s core.
• Hydrogen atoms combine to

form helium and release huge
amounts of energy, radiation
and light.
• It takes over 10,000 years for

the light to get to the Sun’s
surface.
• The temperature there is

about 15 million degrees C.
The Sun vibrates from material moving inside of it and we have translated
those sensed vibrations into sound. With QuickTime, play Sun_sound.aif
loud to hear it hum. Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology
The Structure of the Sun

Fuente: Priest E.-Magnetohydrodynamics of the Sun-Cambridge University Press (2014)

Characteristics of the Sun

Mass,
Radius
Pressure (Center) 1 283 millions atm
Temperature (Center)
(Surface)
(Corona)
(Prominences)
Luminosity
Magnetic Field (Polar)
(prominences)
(sun spots)
Plasma density (corona)
(prominences)

The Energy Source of Stars
1H
1 + 1H1 → 1H2 + 1e0
1H
2 + 1H1 → 2He3 +
2He
3 + 2He3 → 2He4 + 1H1 +1H1
Sun Cycles

Sunspot
A sunspot is a kind of whirlpool controlled by intense magnetic forces
where hot gases from inside the Sun are blocked from reaching the surface.
Therefore they are cooler than the rest of the Sun and appear darker.
Sunspots
The Sun as seen here

rotates about every 27 days.
Play: Spinning.mov
Sunspot
The average sunspot is about the size of Earth, though the largest
can be 20 times the size of Earth.
Solar Rotation
The Sun rotates every 27 days or so. This causes magnetic field lines to
become twisted and stretched to the breaking point. These eventually
break and reconnect, creating heat, intense active regions, and solar
blasts of charged particles.
Play: dynamo.mov
The Active Sun
Coronal loops filled with hot plasma that emits in

the soft X-rays regime. Observed at 17.1 nm
wavelength by the Transition Region and
Coronel Explorer (TRACE) satellite. (courtesy
NASA/TRACE).

Different Solar Rotation
It must be noted that since the Sun is made of a gaseous plasma and is
not a solid body, it does not rotate at the same speed at all places.
Specifically, near the poles the surface rotates in around 35 days, but
near its equator the Sun rotates about every 25 days. This is called
differential rotation. This process leads to stretching and stressing of the
Sun’s magnetic field, which does cause solar storms.

Sunspots from down under
• Sunspots are magnetic

structures that emerge from
beneath the surface.
• The white lines represent

magnetic field lines.
• When the lines tangle and

break apart, they are the
creators of solar storms
Play: Spotsform.mov

Solar Flares
• Flares are quick, intense but
smaller explosions than
CMEs.
• They appear as bright

flashes sometimes followed
by a burst of high energy
particles that can travel at
half the speed of light. Large
flares can occur several
times a year when the Sun is
near its peak activity.
• The “snow” in the clip is

radiation from the storm
hitting the spacecraft. (Green tint has been added)
Play: Flare.mov
Solar Flares
Development of a solar flare in the Sweet-Parker model.

a) The dipolar field of a coronal loop connects to the interplanetary magnetic field.
b) By reconnection of antiparallel field lines the stress of the field is released.
c, d) The relaxing magnetic field accelerates the trapped plasma.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)
• CMEs are large solar storms

that can blast out a cloud of
billions of tons of particles at
over two million km per hour.
Smaller ones can occur
almost any day.
• The clouds reach Earth’s

orbit in 1 to 3 days but only a
few of them actually head
our way.
Play: CMEstorm.mov
Coronal mass ejection of February 27, 2000 as observed by the LASCO

instrument aboard the SOHO satellite. (courtesy NASA/SOHO).


Solar Wind on Earth
Play: BarMag4.mov
We live in the atmosphere of the Sun, basking in its light and warmth, protected
by our magnetic shield, the magnetosphere (green lines in the clip). We are also
struck constantly by the flow of its solar wind.

Solar Wind on Earth
The Sun is also the source of radiation and storms that we call.
SPACE WEATHER!
Play: Bursts.mov
Credit: the SolarMax IMAX film
Solar Wind on Earth

The Solar Wind
Experimental evidence of the existence of the solar wind was given by

Konstantin Gringauz (1918–1993), who had designed the hemispherical
retarding-potential ion detectors aboard the Soviet moon probes Luna 1
and Luna 2, which were both launched in 1959.
The Solar Wind
http://www.issibern.ch/teams/EUV*Irr/heliosphere.jpg

The Solar Wind
Properties of the high-latitude solar wind converted to conditions at 1 AU
Quantity Fast SW Slow SW
773
Proton density
Proton temperature
Electron temperature

Earth’s Magnetosphere and Ionosphere



In 1958-1959 between and Altitude, James van Allen
Between 13 000 and 65 000 km altitude

Van Allen radiation belts

The outer belt mainly contains energetic The inner belt is filled with protons
electrons of energy, protons, of and electrons of
alpha particles and O++ ions. hundreds of energy.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Van_Allen_radiat
http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/~spate/pictures/radbelt_1.jpg
ion_belt.svg/338px-Van_Allen_radiation_belt.s vg.png

Particles excite the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere, giving off green and brown
light from oxygen and blue and purple light from nitrogen.
https://www.universetoday.com/wp- https://briankoberlein.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/08/Ovation-JUly-15-580x517.jpg content/uploads/SWPC_Aurora_Map_N.png

The CME that hit the Earth on October 30, 2003, expanded the
auroral zone, which (in Europe) usually has a southern
boundary inmid-Scandinavia at latitude, down to Lake
Constance near the German–Swiss border at latitude.

Low-Latitude Auroras During the Period 1859-1958
Date Low-Latitude Extend (deg) Reference

2 sept 1859 20 Kimball [1960]
24-25 Oct 1870 23 This work
4 Feb 1872 19 Silverman [2008b]
25 Sept 1909 30 Silverman [1995]
14 May 1921 30 Silverman and Cliver [2001]
25 Jan 1938 30 Cliver and Svalgaard [2004]
11 Feb 1958 28 Adem [1958]
Source: J. M. Vaquero, et al., The 1870 space

weather event: Geomagnetic and auroral
records, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH, VOL. 113, A08230,
doi:10.1029/2007JA012943, 2008

In the , plasma is produced by photoionization of atomic

oxygen by extreme UV photons in the range.
The E-layer between 90 and altitude is formed by

photoionization of molecular oxygen by radiation in the
range, and by soft X-rays of .

The Earth’s Most atmosphere
Neutral atmosphere Altitude regime Ionized atmosphere Altitude regime.
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Maximum ionization density occurs in the -region of the ionosphere at about

altitude, where . With atmospheric density at
altitude being , the degree of ionization is ∼ .


Natural Plasmas on Earth
• Northern Lights
• Natural plasmas cover

a wide parameter
range in temperature
and density.

• Lightning
• Flames

Elves = Elves are
creatures of Nordic and
Germanic mythology.
The King Frey, Lord of

Elves of the light.
Halo = aureola
Sprite: The goblins are
fantastic mythological
creatures of humanoid form
but the size of a small child
that are present in the
folklore of many cultures.
Leprechaun, from Ireland.

The first direct visual evidence was documented on July 6,
1989 by scientists at the University of Minnesota.

On May 16th, 2016, Red Sprites while filming a cluster of supercell
thunderstorms off to my northeast. This alternate edit shows these sprites in
real time, and then replayed in slow motion at 1/10th the speed for easier
viewing. Camera used was a Sony A7S II with a Zeiss f1.4 lens wide open.
ISO of 32000/51000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E14OZ95hqGA
In September 2015, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen
captured the storm above India through the International
Space Station’s cupola windows. He witnessed red sprites
above the storm and blue jets stream upward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r50Un4LP TM4
The Physics of Lightning

Dusty Plasmas
The sombrero galaxy , seen edge-on by the Hubble Space

Telescope, reveals huge amounts of dust in the galactic plane. (right). The
Whirlpool galaxy gives a face view that displays the dust distribution
in the spiral arms. (Courtesy NASA and Hubble Heritage Team).

Dusty Plasmas
Dark radial “spokes” were

observed in Saturn’s
B-ring during the fly-by of
the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
These structures are
attributed to a collective
motion of electrically-
charged fine dust particles
(courtesy NASA/JPL-
Caltech)

Dusty Plasmas

Dusty Plasmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS2wKBVqDqw

Dusty Plasmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15LVlo9-_bQ

Ion-Ion Plasmas
A fullerene (also, fullerene) is a molecule composed of
carbon that can take on a geometric shape reminiscent of a
sphere, an ellipsoid, a tube (called a nanotube) or a ring.
Fullerenes have the

importance property
that they can be
charged positively
and negatively using
electrons in a wide
energy rage.
C60 = Fullerene

Ion-Ion Plasmas
Magnet Coils
C C60 = Fullerene
Electron beam
Electron beam
Positive C+60 ions are produced by

electron-impact ionization [16–18],C60 + e−
OVEN
Negative
ions are produced by electron attachment,
.
Ion–ion plasmas find application in charge-

free semiconductor manufacturing, negative
ion sources, and the of the upper
atmosphere.
Laboratory Plasmas-cold plasmas ( )
• Investigation of plasmas started in the 18th century

-weakly ionized plasmas: flames, exploding wires (Leydan
jar, 1745)
• Gas discharges:
- not self-sustained discharge (cascading)
- glow discharges (100Pa, 100V, mA, ions at cathode
produce primary e-)
- sparks (higher density, E-field, radiation, transient, lightning)
- arcs (higher current (80 A), 10V, thermo emission, narrow
channel,1eV)
• Although these plasmas are cold, many technical

applications.
Laboratory Plasmas-cold plasmas ( )

Plasma-Based light Sources
eye-sensitivity curve

Plasma Displays (≤ 1eV)
The filling gas in a plasma , . The cell

display is a mixture of neon and dimensions are on the order of
xenon with xenon delivering the and the plasma is excited
UV radiation. using a signal at

Plasma Displays (≤ 1eV)
A discharge cell in a plasma display
The magnesium-oxide has the

unique property that one impinging
ion creates more than 30
secondary electrons that maintain
the discharge.
The electrodes on the front glass substrate The conducting electrode layers and the
are actually oriented at right angle to form MgO coating are transparent.
an address matrix in combination with the
bus electrode. Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology
Laboratory Plasmas-hot plasmas (> 1eV)
• Microwave plasmas (homogeneous, up to several ); substitute

discharges in technical applications.
• Plasma generated by lasers/ ion beams:

- laser/ion beam/x-rays for heating → compression → inertial fusion
- Short pulse laser ( ) onto matter; direct ionization.
• Magnetically confined fusion plasmas.

Inertial Confinement
Main Optical Power Beam Final

Amplifier Switch Amplifier Transport Optics
Injection Laser
System Target
Beam Transport Chamber
X rays from During the final Thermonuclear

the hohlraum part of the burns spreads
Laser beams
create a rocket- implosion, the rapidly through
Rapidly heat the
like blow off of fuel core the compressed
inside surface
capsule surface, reaches 100 fuel, yielding
of the hohlraum
compressing the times the many times the
inter-fuel portion density of lead input energy
of the capsule. and ignites at
100,000,000 C











Main Optical Power Beam Final

Amplifier Switch Amplifier Transport Optics
Injection Laser
System Target
Beam Transport Chamber
X rays from Thermonuclear

During the final
Laser beams the hohlraum burns spreads
create a rocket- part of the
Rapidly heat implosion, the fuel rapidly through the
the inside like blow off of compressed fuel,
core reaches 100
surface of the capsule surface, yielding many
compressing the times the density
hohlraum of lead and ignites times the input
inter-fuel portion energy
at 100,000,000 C
of the capsule.

Magnetic Confinement of Plasmas
Electric Magnetic
Force Force

Magnetic Confinement
No Magnetic Field
With Magnetic Field
y
Magnetic Field line Electron
http://iter.rma.ac.be/en/img/MagneticConfinement.jpg
x
-

Magnetic Confinement
Plasma
Toroidal Magnetic Field Magnetic Pole Field

How to achieve Fusion on Earth?
Poloidal Field Magnet Toroidal Field Magnet Vacuum Chamber
Plasma
• Stable Configuration
• High


Radio Frequency Heating
Ohmic Heating
Neutral Beam Injection

Necessary Devices
Tokamak Stellarator
Plasma
Toroidal Field Coil Plasma Currents Helical Coil

The Tokamak Concept
JET
Largest Radius
JET (Joint European Torus )
Toroidal Magnetic Field
CCFE, United Kingdom
Plasma Current
Pulse Length
Heating Power
The Tokamak Concept

The Spherical Tokamak Concept
NSTX-U MAST MEDUSA-CR

PPPL, Princeton, EE.UU CCFE, Reino Unido ITCR, Costa Rica

The Spherical Tokamak Concept
(a) 3D last magnetic closed surfaced, (b) Beam shaped cross section; of MEDUSA-CR.

Spherical Tokamaks Around the World
MEDUSA-CR

International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor
150 millions C
Plasma Temperature
500 MW Output power

Fusion energy
ITER
Cadarache, France

Parameter ITER
Time of Plasma
Burning
)
Q
P_Heating
Cost

Parameter ITER
Time of Plasma
Burning
)
Q
P_Heating Central solenoid Mante Module
Cost
Vacuum chamber
Toroidal Field Cryostat

Coil
Access Gates
Poloidal Field
Coil Diverter
Brackets

Another Way…
Stellarator = Stella + Generator

A Little History…
In March, Lyman Spitzer Jr. proposes to the

US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) the
construction of a magnetic device for plasma
to study controlled fusion.
Matterhorn project.

Stellarators Genealogy
Out of Work
Operating
Under construction
Planning
SCR-1

Costa Rica ’s First Stellarator (SCR-1)


Microwave interferometer
Industrial battery bank Langmuir probe
ECH system
Acquisition modules
ECH system
Electrical current controller Gas injection system
Vacuum pumping system Vacuum vessel and coils


Stellarators Around the World

Wendelstein 7-X : the optimized
superconducting stellarator
Drift-optimized, stiff configuration by CW-operation by superconducting coils,

minimum Shafranov shift and cw-heating (startup: 10 MW ECRH),
minimum bootstrap current. cw-diagnostics and first wall
R = 5.5m, a= 0.5 m outer diameter: 16 m

Vplasma= 33 m3 (-> AUG: 14 m3)

Experiment under construction
at Greifswald branch of IPP
IPP Greifswald
Assembly stand:
non-planar and planar
superconducting coils
shifted over the plasma
vessel
Handling a modular coil at

the W7-X assembly hall

Wendelstein 7-X
Plasma
• Optimization,
• Various configurations possible:
= “its an experiment, not a reactor“

Wendelstein 7-X
In-vessel Components
• Divertor + first wall + diagnostics

for steady state !
• Avg. heatload 50 kw/m2
• Design, integration and test of in
vessel components mainly in
Garching
Wendelstein 7-X
Plasma Vessel + cooled
superisolation
structure outside to
keep heat away from
superconductiong
coils.
• Complex shape
• Often narrow distance to plasma
“typical stellarator design problem“
• Prepared for bake-out
• Already on site.

Wendelstein 7-X
Coil System
• He-cooled superconducting coils

(NiTi in Cu-matrix in Al jacket = cable)
50 non-planar
+ 20 planar (flexibility)
+ control coils
• Mechanical forces, movements,
must sustain quenches …

Wendelstein 7-X
Central Support structure
+ Superconductiong bus system (FZJ)

Wendelstein 7-X
Outer Cryostat Vessel
• Vacuum tightness
• 299 ports (heating, cooling, diagnostics)

Wendelstein 7-X

Progress and Challenges
Towards the Nuclear Fusion

Power Plant

Isotopes of Hydrogen
Isotopic Forms.
An Atom contains protons and
neutrons. Isotopes differ from the
quantity of neutrons.

How to produce Tritium

What is Nuclear Fusion?
Alberto Einstein
Before
After
E= m·c2
c = 300.000.000 m/s
c2 = 90.000.000.000.000.000
• Sustained fusion reactions require enough particles (density)

that are energetic enough (temperature) and collide often
enough (confinement time).
• The fusion triple product is the figure of merit:

nT
T ~ 100-200 million K
D & T is a plasma at these
N ~ 2-3x1020 ions/m3
temperatures
τ ~ 1-2 s

Typical velocity of a 100 million ion:
Even with ,the ion would travel before

colliding with another.
The ITER tokamak has circumference.
The trick: use magnetic fields

Possible Reactions (On Earth)
1D
2 + 1D2 → 1T3 + 1H1 + 4.03 MeV
1D
2 + 1D2 → 2He3 + 0n1 + 3.27 MeV
➢➢➢ 1D
2 + 1T3 → 2He4 + 0n1 + 17.6 MeV 26000 kW·h /g D-T
1D
2 + 2He3 → 2He4 + 1H1 + 18.3 MeV
1H
1 + 5B11 → 32He4 + 8.7MeV

First Fusion Reaction on Earth
Bomb at Enewetak (Marshall islands), 1952.

Fusion Energy in the Laboratory

Differences between Fusion and Fission
Core binding energy (MeV)

Comparison Between Reactions

Energy Production Capacity
25 grams
All the
energy they
will need
Fusion throughout
their life

Power Plant
250 trains
Carbon 100 wagons
2.500.000 Tons
10 supertankers
Petroleum
11.000.000 Barrels
One Wagon
Fission
28 Tons
Truck
Fusion
1000 Kgs.
Energy Options

Advantages of this Energy Source
9. Reachable 10. The Future 1.Universal 2.Secure
8. Exciting 3. Enviromentally Friendly
7. Industrial Scale 6.Inagotable 5.Internacional 4. Serve the environment

How do we achieve Fusion on Earth?
Too Good to be True

How do we achieve Fusion on Earth?

Coulomb Barrier
Long Range Electric Repulsive Forces Short Range Nuclear Forces
+ +
+ +
Deuterium Tritium

Problem and Solution

How to Achieve Fusion Reactions

Progress and Challenges
Towards the Nuclear Fusion

Power Plant

Fusion Research is International

Progress of Fusion Research
(atmosphere secs)
10 Burning
Plasma
Conditions
1
Performance
0.1 Extension
Proof
0.01 of Principle
Fusion Product
Concept
0.001 Exploration
1 10 100 1000
Central Ion Temperature
Fusion Plant
Biological shield
First Wall Fertile Mantle
Li
Deuterium Helium
Non-radioactive ashes
Vacuum
Chamber Fuel
Processing
Lithium
Transmission
\ lines
Basic Fuels Steam generator Turbine
Electricity Generator
1D + 1T → 2He (3.6 MeV) + 0n (14 MeV)

2 3 4 1
Li 6 + n1 → He4 + T3 (+4.8 MeV)

3 0 2 1
3Li + 0n → 2He +1T + 0n (-2.87 MeV)
7 1 4 3 1
Fusion Plant
Fuel
D: 115 ppm
In seawater; +
Chemical + + + +
extraction
D T He n
Li: abundant earth’s crust

7%
93%

Fusion Plant
Fuel
•Deuterium from ocean:

• Lithium: from Sea Salts or Salt Mines.
Abundant and distributed throughout the planet.
1D + 1T → 2He (3.6 MeV) + 0n (14 MeV)

2 3 4 1
3Li + 0n → 2He + 1T (+4.8 MeV)

6 1 4 3
3Li + 0n → 2He +1T + 0n (-2.87 MeV)

7 1 4 3 1

Fusion Plant
The “emissions”:
Helium: Innocuous for people and the

environment.
Minimum quantities (~1g / person / year)
Does not accumulate
Valuable for the industry
1D + 1T → 2He (3.6 MeV) + 0n (14 MeV)

2 3 4 1
3Li + 0n → 2He + 1T (+4.8 MeV)

6 1 4 3
3Li + 0n → 2He +1T + 0n (-2.87 MeV)

7 1 4 3 1

Fusion Plant
Intrinsic Security
• The reaction is extinguished as soon as the
system leaves the “optimal point”
• Mínimum Tritium Storage.
1D + 1T → 2He (3.6 MeV) + 0n (14 MeV)

2 3 4 1
3Li + 0n → 2He + 1T (+4.8 MeV)

6 1 4 3
3Li + 0n → 2He +1T + 0n (-2.87 MeV)

7 1 4 3 1

Fusion Startups
General Fusion
Investor Jeff Bezos (Amazon)

Tokamak energy
Investor Paul Allan

Laboratory Plasmas- , diagram

Maxwell´s and Lorentz force equations
And Maxwell’s equations:
Gauss Law for E Gauss law for B Faraday s Law Ampère- Maxwell
Equation
Electric Magnetic
Force Force

However, analyses of plasma effects are much more

complicated, for a number of reasons:
(1) Although the various movements of individual

particles are all governed by the electromagnetic
fields in which they move, these fields are themselves
often greatly modified by the presence and motion of
the particles.
(2) Atomic processes such as ionization, excitation,

recombination, and charge exchange come into play
and compete with one another in a complicated
manner, with complicated dependencies on particle
energies and densities.
(3) The fact that charged particles move results in a

variety of transport phenomena arising from both
short and long-range Coulomb interactions between
various particles.
(4) The long-range Coulomb forces give rise to a

number of collective phenomena, including
electrostatic oscillations and instabilities.
(5) Most plasmas, and in particular hot plasmas, are

typically confined in a magnetic field, with which they
are strongly coupled.

Maxwell´s equations
Find trajectories from

Solving equations of motion The charge
current from trajectories

Find space charge and
Calculate force for next
Point on trajectories
Current density
Solve Maxwell’s equations

Equations Governing Plasmas
The equations governing a plasma with freely mobile non relativistic particles are:
Initial
Initial
And
෍ Conditions
Boundary
Conditions:
෍

The equations governing a plasma with freely mobile non relativistic particles are :
 For gaseous plasmas, and

 An equation relating to and , exists for each and every charged
particle.
 For known and and specified initial conditions, these motion
equations can be solved to determine the positions and velocities of every
particle.
 However, particle locations/motions lead to ρ/J, which in turn modify
and
 The charge/current densities are obtained from discrete charges by
averaging over a macroscopically small volume , which contains many
individual particles.
The equations governing a plasma with freely mobile non relativistic particles are:
 Such averaging is appropriate, since the electric and magnetic fields

in Maxwell’s Equations are also macroscopic fields, suitably averaged
over both space and time.
 The large number of charged particles in a plasma facilitates the use
of statistical techniques such as plasma kinetic theory. Often, the
kinetic approach retains more information than we want and a fluid
approach is better suited, in which only macroscopic variables
 (e.g., density, temperature, and pressure) are kept. The combination
of fluid theory with Maxwell’s equations forms the basis of the field of
magnetohydrodynamics (MHD).
Hierarchy of Plasma Models
Plasma Phenomena
Single Particle Distribution Boltzmann

Motion Function Equation
Moments of Boltzmann
Equation
Single Fluid
Multiple Fluids
(MHD)

Plasma Parameters
Plasma Parameters

Small Scale
= mass = velocity = kinetic energy
The temperature is a measure

of the average translational Objects in thermal
kinetic energy of the gas equilibrium have the same
particles. temperature.
෍ The temperature is a scalar quantity.
(magnitude, not direction)
Number of molecules
Number of molecules
Molecular speed/ Molecular speed/
http://wiki.chemprime.chemeddl.org/images/7/70/Distribution_of_Molecular_Speeds_in_H2.jpg

Maxwell Speed Distribution
ഥ
Most probable speed
Mean Speed
Root mean squared speed
Function
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Kinetic/imgkin/mxspd.gif

Number of Particles
High-speed Tail
Speed
https://ase.tufts.edu/cosmos/pictures/stars/Fig3_3Maxwell_Distribution_of_Particle_Speeds.jpg

0 2 4 6 8 10
Particle Energy Particle Velocity
Boltzman distribution Maxwell-Boltzman distribution
The most probable distribution of these velocities is know as the

Maxwellian distribution.

A Maxwellian velocity distribution.
Where is the number of particles per with velocity

between and , is the kinetic energy, and is
Boltzmann’s constant,

A Maxwellian velocity distribution

The density , or number of particles per , is given by
න න
The constant related to the density by:

‫׬‬
‫׬‬
Defining:
Τ
and
We can write as:

The integral in the numerator is integrable by parts:
Τ
Cancelling the integrals, we have:
Thus the average kinetic energy is

It is easy to extend this result to three dimensions. Maxwell’s distribution
is then:
where,
The average kinetic energy is:

We note that expression is symmetric in and , since a Maxwellian

distribution is isotropic. Consequently, each of the three terms in the
numerator is the same as the others. We need only to evaluate the first
term and multiply by three:
Using our previous result, we have,
The general result is that equals per degree of freedom.

Thus the conversion factor is:
By plasma we mean that
In three dimensions.
Using the conversion factor is
Thus, when we refer to a 0.5 eV plasma we mean that ,

or a plasma temperature of ,
Or an average energy (in three dimensions) of :
Thus a plasma at a temperature of has an average energy of

, and a plasma with average energy is at a
temperature of .

It should also be noted that by temperature we mean the quantity

sometimes called “kinetic temperature,” simply the state of energy
of the particles.
A high value of T does not necessarily mean a lot of heat, since

the latter also depends on heat capacity, determined also by the
number of particles. As an example, the electron kinetic
temperature inside a fluorescent lamp is but it does not
feel nearly as “hot” when one holds the tube while it is lit. The
reason is that the free-electron density inside the tube is much less
that the number of particles in a gas at atmospheric pressure, so
that the total amount of heat transferred to the walls by the impact of
electrons is low.

Magnetic
Confinement
Magnetic
Field
Nucleus
Intense
Energy
Beams
Electrons
A plasma can have several temperatures at the same time

No Magnetic Field With Magnetic Field
Electron
Magnetic
Field Line
Magnetic
Confinement
Magnetic
Field
Nucleus
Intense
Energy
Beams
Electrons
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/O_Kaneko/pub
lication/282430929/figure/fig7/AS:392710012850178
@1470640771094/a-The-profile-of-ion-and-electron-
temperatures-and-electron-density-of-the-plasma-
with.png

Plasma Parameters: Ionization
Energy of Bohrs ground state

is Plank’s Constant

Plasma Parameters: Ionization
• We restrict to hydrogen (simple and widespread):
• Plasma is ionized gas minimum temperature
• For ionization: thermal energy has to be of the order ionization energy.
• Later shown:

Plasma Parameters: relativistic plasmas
• Relativistic plasmas: thermal electron energy becomes comparable

to energy related to electron rest mass.

Plasma Parameters: degenerated plasmas
Fuente: Facebook
En un lugar del
cosmos
Modern Nomenclature

Modern Nomenclature


Fuente: culturacientifica.com
At absolute zero, fermions will fill up all A Maxwellian velocity

The Fermi-Dirac available energy states below a level
Distribution called the Fermi energy with one (and only distribution.
one) particle. They are constrained by the
Paul exclusion principle. At a higher
The probability that a particle
will have energy E temperatures, some are elevated to levels
the Fermi level.
See the Maxwell-

Boltzmann distribution
for a general The quantum
discussion of the difference which arises
For low temperatures, from the fact that the
exponential term. Those energy states below the Fermi particles are
energy have a probability of indistinguishable
essentially 1,and those above the Fermi
energy essentially zero
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/imgqua/disfd3.gif

• Plasma is degenerated when quantum effects are important

• Electrons are fermions and follow the Fermi distribution
• For : Boltzmann statistic is correct.
Relativistic degenerate plasma
ൗ

De Broglie wavelength
De Broglie wavelength is a wavelength, which is manifested in all the
particles in quantum mechanics, according to wave-particle duality,
and it determines the probability density of finding the object at a
given point of the configuration space.
Momentum of
a photon the de Broglie
Hypothesis
for photon for electron?

Wavelength-
Energy relation

The Wigner–Seitz radius
The Wigner–Seitz radius, named after Eugene Wigner and Frederick Seitz,
is the radius of a sphere whose volume is equal to the mean volume per
atom in a solid.
In a 3-D system with particles in a volume
Wigner–Seitz radius
ൗ

Thermal de Broglie wavelength

In physics, the thermal de Broglie wavelength ( , sometimes also
denoted by is roughly the average de Broglie wavelength of particles in
an plasma at the specified temperature.
We can take the average interparticle spacing in the plasma to be

approximately where is the volume and is the number of
particles.
Degeneracy plasma
Non-degeneracy plasma
• in typical plasma are usually high.

• Broglie wavelengths are much smaller than the mean inter
particle
is Plank’s constant
Electrons with have:
•
•
Inter-particle distance:

The criterion of non-degeneracy plasma

We can express the influence of the quantum character of the particles also
using the ratio of the length scales of the thermal (de Broglie) wave
length of the particles
to their average distance (also called Wigner-Seitz-Radius)
The criterion of non-degeneracy for a particle species is then

given by
which is true if the de Broglie wave length is much less than the average
particle distance.

and by relating this to the Broglie wavelength of an electron we get:
Where is planks constant and is the momentum of the particle with

temperature . From this we can find the temperature at which quantum
mechanics becomes necessary to accurately describe the electrons
behavior:
These three temperatures provide a set of conditions for bounding the

regime of classical plasmas we are interested in:
and
Plasma Parameters: electrostatic energy
There is one other important energy to consider which is the ratio of the
thermal energy to the electrostatic energy. The electrostatic potential
energy of two charges and separated by a distance is given by:
Landau length
and thus a temperature

Plasma Parameters: ideal plasmas
• The charged particles inside the plasma interact via the long-range Coulomb force
• In ideal plasmas the kinetic energy dominates over the electrostatic energy
• Average distance of particles:
: ideal plasma
: weakly non-ideal
: strongly non-ideal

Plasma Parameters: ideal plasmas
• The charged particles inside the plasma interact via the long-range Coulomb force
• In ideal plasmas the kinetic energy dominates over the electrostatic energy
• Average distance of particles:
: ideal plasma
: weakly non-ideal
Strongly coupled plasmas

Strongly coupled Coulomb systems
: ideal plasma
: weakly non-ideal
https://www.lanl.gov/projects/dense-plasma-theory/research/one-component-plasma.php

0.2 Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

1 Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology



Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology 150

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology 175

Plasma Regimes
Nuclear Fusion Earth Environmental

Basic Plasma Properties
Basic Plasma Properties

Basic plasma properties: Plasma Frequency
This oscillation is typically at a

rather high frequency,
quasineutrality is preserved
on a time-average basis


ර ර

The solution of this equation is time-harmonic at a frequency
In other words

Basic Plasma properties: Plasma Frequency
• Assume small excursion of electrons relative to ions

• Typical plasma , ,
• Electric field causes force onto charged particles:

• Electrons are accelerated, because of motion of ions can be
neglected
• We obtain the description of a harmonic oscillation:
• This results in the plasma frequency which depends only on the
density
For

Plasma oscillations and EM Waves

Plasma Frequency - Consequences
• On the timescale electron in a plasma react to react to electric fields

(compensate them), in our example:
• Small deviations from lead to large
quasi-neutrality will be established quickly.

Plasma Frequency - Consequences
• So the plasma frequency has important influence on propagation of

electromagnetic waves in the plasma
• Without magnetic field transverse electro-magnetic waves with

cannot penetrate the plasma (electrons short-circuit )
• Example: reflection of visible light on metals:

silver or gold:

Basic Plasma Properties: Debye Shielding

The density variation is greater when the electron gas is cold than when
it is hot.

∇∙ E= Gauss Law for
Poisson’s equation in one dimension is:
If the density far away is , we have:
In the presence of a potential energy , the electron distribution function is

Integrating over , setting , and noting that ,

we find:
Substituting for and , we have:
Taylor serie
1
In the region where , we can expand the exponential in a Taylor

series:
rapidly there. Keeping only the linear terms, we have

Where stands for
, we can write
the solution, as
Defining,

Where stands for , we can write the solution, as
The quantity , called the Debye length, is a measure of the shielding

distance or thickness of the sheath:

in ºK =
in eV
We are now in a position to define «quasineutrality» Ejected Electron
Incident photon
Scattered photon
The dimension L of a physical system.

Example 1-1. Debye length and plasma frequency
Compute the Debye length for the plasma found in a typical plasma television
cell with the following parameters: , . The cell
dimensions are on the order of and the plasma is excited using a
signal at .

Example 1-1. Debye length and plasma frequency

Compute the Debye length for the plasma found in a typical plasma
television cell with the following parameters: , .
The cell dimensions are on the order of and the plasma is excited
using a signal at .

Typical Plasma Parameters
Table 1. Typical parameters of naturally occurring and laboratory
plasmas
Length Particle Electron Magnetic
scale density temperature field
(m) (m-3) (eV) (T)
Interstellar gas 1
Solar wind 10
Van Allen belts
Earth's ionosphere
Solar corona
Gas discharges -
Process plasmas
Fusion experiment
Fusion reactor

Typical Plasma Parameters

Summary: Ideal Plasma
• Coulomb potential of plasma particles is shielded for
neutrality is valid for length scales
• There are many particles in the Debye sphere

on average the

The Plasma Parameter

The Plasma Parameter
Number of particles in a «Debye sphere»:
Τ ൗ
In addition to , «collective behavior» requires: ( in ºK)

Criteria for Plasmas
If is the frequency of typical plasma oscillations and is the mean
time between collisions with neutral atoms, we require for the
gas to behave like a plasma rather than a neutral gas.

Criteria for Plasmas
The three conditions a plasma must satisfy are therefore:
1)
2)
3)

Modern Nomenclature
• Originally Langmuir introduced the term plasma for ionized gases with
very small resulting charge (globally neutral).
• Today: generalized term for system with broken bound states
- free electrons in metals The redistribution of charge and the
screening of the inner regions of a metal
occur extremely quickly (typically ∼10−19 s)
as a result of the very high density of free
charges.
Negative electrons
- Positive metal ions
- - -
- - - +
- +-+ - - +
+ -
+
+ -
+
+
+
-- + +
+ + +- - +
- + ++ - + + - ++ + +
- - + -
-

Modern Nomenclature
Electronic bands in solids
band allowed Electronic bands in solids
The electrons in atoms have
banned band
quantified energies, defined
by quantum numbers.
Two electrons, subject to the

band allowed same potential cannot have
the same quantum numbers
banned band
band allowed
Pauli Principle

Modern Nomenclature

Modern Nomenclature
Metal Graphene Semiconductor Insulator

Energy
Overlapping electronic Electronic bands in the Electronic bands Electronic bands

bands. There is no shape of a symbol: the separated by an separated by an energy
energy gap. Electrons vertex of the upper cone energy gap small gap too large for
below the Fermi level meets that of the lower enough for electrons electrons to pass to the
can jump to the nearest one just at the Fermi to overcome and pass conduction band. An
unoccupied levels to level. There is no energy from the valence band electric current cannot
establish an electric gap. Electrons can easily to the conduction be established
current. A type of load pass from the lower to band. Two types of
carrier: electrons. the upper cone. Two charge carriers:
types of charge carriers: electrons and holes
electrons and holes.

Modern Nomenclature
- electron/p-hole pairs in semi-conductors.
P-type n-type
(a) electric field
photon
N-region
electron
light mobile
electric field
hole
(b)
electric field P-region

Time
(c)

Modern Nomenclature
Modern Nomenclature
Typical Characteristics of Various Plasmas
Laboratory gas Plasma in metal Plasma in Ionosphere
plasma semiconductor
Mobile negative charge electron electron electron electron
Mobile positive charge Ionized atom hole Ionized atom
Densities Τ Τ Τ
Mass carrier
Mass carrier
Magnetic field encountered

(T)
(Cyclotron frequency)
(Plasma frequency)
(Collision time)
*In solid state physics, a particle's effective mass (often denoted ) is the mass that it seems to have when responding to forces, or the mass that it
seems to have when interacting with other identical particles in a thermal distribution.
Modern Nomenclature - Quark gluon Plasma
Quark–gluon plasma (QGP) can

be created by heating matter
to a temperature of 175 MeV =
175 000 000 eV =
2 030 0001 000 000 K
2.03 billones K (in Spanish)


Modern Nomenclature


- quark gluon plasma
• In February 2000, the CERN laboratory has formally announced that it
views the collective evidence obtained from seven relativistic nuclear
collision experiments.
• We will stay with ionized gases!

Source: https://www.universetoday.com/59555/astronomy-without-a-
telescope-home-made-quark-gluon-soup/
Ultra cold neutral plasma
Temperature (K)
Number Density (charged particles/

Ultrafast electron cooling in an expanding ultracold plasma,

Tobias Kroker, et. al, Nature Communications, volume 12,
Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology Article number: 596 (2021)
A 10-ns laser pulse

tuned near the ionization
threshold creates the
plasma, which is typically
1 mm across and has a
density on the order of
1010 cm-3 for laser
cooled atoms and up to
1014 cm-3 for molecular
beams.
Source: Thomas C. Killian and Steven L. Rolston. Ultracold neutral plasmas. Physics
Today 63, 3, 46 (2010); doi: 10.1063/1.3366240
1. A pulse of light gently ionizes or

removes
1. A pulsethe ofoutermost
light gentlyelectrons
ionizes or
(yellow)
removesfrom the
ultra cold
outermost
Neutral electrons
xenon
atoms
(yellow)
(purple)
from ultra cold Neutral xenon
atoms (purple)
3. As more electrons escape, the pull on

the3. As
remaining
more electrons
electrons
escape,
is the
stronger
pull on
(shown
the here
remaining
as a deeper
electrons
well). is stronger
2. The electrons out wardly diffuse. Some The(shown
plasmahere
temperature
as a deeperiswell).
around one
2.escape,
The electrons outoverall
leading to an wardlycharge
diffuse. Some
imbalance degree
The above
plasmaabsolute
temperature
zero. is around one
escape, leadingcharges
(more positive to an overall
than charge
negativeimbalance
charges). degree above absolute zero.
(more positive
The now charges
positive thanattract
ions negative
thecharges).
negative
The now positive
electrons, ionstoattract
forcing them swarm the negative
inwards.
electrons, forcing them to swarm inwards.
TheThe
plasma is located
plasma is locatedbetween
between two twometal grids.
metal grids.
Scientist
Scientistapply an oscillating
apply an oscillatingelectric fieldfield
electric to to
grid1. TheThe
grid1. electrons in the
electrons plasmas
in the plasmas respond
respondto the
to the
Phase Shifter electric field and begin to collectively oscillate.
electric field and begin to collectively oscillate.
ThisThis
oscillation induces
oscillation a current
induces in metal
a current grid grid
in metal 2. 2.
Using electrons shown here, the
Using electrons shown here, the scientist scientist can can
detect this small current. The
detect this small current. The measurementsmeasurements
Atten. Plasma here reveal howhow
reveal fast fast
expansion
expansion dramatically
dramatically changes
changes
To the resonant frequency and also how the
the resonant frequency and also how the electrons electrons
Amp Mixer Oscilloscope spatially arrange
spatially themselves
arrange themselvesin the
in plasma
the plasma
Circuit used to probe electron behavior Dr.

Dr. Iván
Iván Vargas-Blanco,
Vargas-Blanco, Costa
Costa Rica
Rica Institute
Institute of
ofTechnology
Technology
Thanks


• Plasma is macroscopic neutral, but not microscopic!
• Each ion attracts electrons higher electron density around ion (and
vice versa)
screening of the Coulomb potential (Debye shielding).
• A single charged particle creates an electrostatic potential in the vacuum
which is described by the Poisson equation (spherical coordinates):
And we yield the Coulomb potential:
(allows for long distance interaction)

• Now plasma = many particles around our charged particle.

• Poisson equation still holds in the plasma, single charge q charge
density .
(assuming single charged ions)
• Assuming a thermodynamic equilibrium and many particles

equilibrium statistical mechanics.
with being the averaged density of the plasma
describes competition of electrostatic potential thermal energy!
• We are interested in ideal plasmas

• Putting the approximation for into the Poisson equation:
• Solution Debye potential:
(Debye 1923, for electrolytes)
Debye length:
For Coulomb potential

strongly reduced
compared with Coulomb potential

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Presentacion Física de Plasmas Unidad 1 Versión 12

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Dr.

Iván Vargas Blanco

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

1. Occurrence of plasmas in 1. To Know the different plasmas

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

➢ Partial or totally ionized gas.

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

•“Fourth state of matter”

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Solid Liquid Gas Plasma

Plasma state is the common one

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Other electromagnetic fields: Heat radiation

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

The temperature is a measure

Thermal and non-thermal Plasmas

Ions and neutral particles at a Electrons and heavy particles at

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Energy needed = ionization energy

Ionization Energies of the First Twenty Elements

Ionization Energy (v)

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Weakly ionized plasmas:

Fully ionized plasmas:

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

For ordinary air at room temperature, we may take:

when , the fractional ionization

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Electron-impact ionization Radiative ionization

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Three-body recombination Radiative recombination

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

A plasma is a quasi-neutral ionized gas which

Consists of Negatively charged electrons,

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

The British English chemist and

“The phenomena in these exhausted

plasma = moldable substance

Langmuir worked in the 1920s with mercury arc

Mercury arc plasma

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén

▪ Hannes Alfven is widely known, as a father of the plasma

▪ He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves.

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Extensions of 105 light years

Rotate to hundreds of kms-1

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Small nuclei of 10 km in size with 1.5 solar masses

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Highly magnetized medium with shear movements that compress,

Plasma heats up to temperatures of 105 K to 107 K

Dr. Iván Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Institute of Technology

Photograph by Mayela López, newspaper La Nación.

The Sun, like all stars, is

• Hydrogen atoms combine to

• It takes over 10,000 years for

• The temperature there is