SPACE

PLASMA
PHYSICS
SPACE PHYSICS
 Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the
study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the universe. As
such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, such
as heliophysics which includes the solar physics of the sun:
the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres,
auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation. Space
physics is a fundamental part of the study of space weather
and has important implications not only to understanding
the universe, but also to practical everyday life, including
the operation of communications and weather satellites.
STATES OF MATTER

 The Four States of Matter

 Four States
 Solid Based upon particle arrangement
Based upon energy of particles
 Liquid Based upon distance between particles

 Gas
 Plasma
KINETIC THEORY OF MATTER

Matter is made up of particles which are in

continual random motion.
 STATES OF MATTER
SOLIDS

•Particles of solids are tightly

packed, vibrating about a fixed
position.

•Solids have a definite shape

and a definite volume.

Heat
STATES OF MATTER
LIQUID
 Particles of liquids are
tightly packed, but are far
enough apart to slide over
one another.

 Liquids have an indefinite

shape and a definite volume.

Heat
STATES OF MATTER
GAS
 Particles of gases
are very far apart
and move freely.

 Gases have an
indefinite shape
and an indefinite
volume.
Heat
PHASE CHANGES
Description of Term for Phase Heat Movement During
Phase Change Change Phase Change

Heat goes into

Solid to Melting the solid as it
liquid melts.
Heat leaves the
Liquid to
Freezing liquid as it
solid
freezes.
PHASE CHANGES
Description of Term for Phase Heat Movement During
Phase Change Change Phase Change

Vaporization,
Liquid to which includes Heat goes into the
gas boiling and liquid as it vaporizes.
evaporation
Heat leaves the gas
Gas to liquid Condensation
as it condenses.
Heat goes into the
Solid to gas Sublimation
solid as it sublimates.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU RAISE
THE TEMPERATURE TO SUPER-HIGH
LEVELS…
BETWEEN
1000°C AND 1,000,000,000°C ?

Will everything
just be a gas?
STATES OF MATTER
PLASMA
 A plasma is an
ionized gas.
 A plasma is a very
good conductor of
electricity and is
affected by
magnetic fields.
 Plasmas, like gases •
Plasma is the
have an indefinite
shape and an common state
indefinite volume. of matter
STATES OF MATTER

SOLID LIQUID GAS PLASMA

Tightly packed, in a Close together with Well separated with Has no definite
regular pattern no regular no regular volume or shape
Vibrate, but do not arrangement. arrangement. and is composed of
move from place to Vibrate, move Vibrate and move electrical charged
place about, and slide past freely at high particles
each other speeds
WHAT IS PLASMA?

 If you remove an electron, which has a negative charge, from an atom you
produce an ion, which has a positive charge. Plasma is a gas which has a
substantial percentage of ions and electrons (charged particles) present (that
percentage can be anything from ~5-100%). Typically plasmas are produced
by adding energy to a gas until it "breaks down" - that is a sufficient number of
electrons and ions are produced. Plasmas are sometimes referred to as the "4th
state of matter" - At temperatures close to absolute zero, they are in solid state,
since adding energy (heat) to a solid gives you a liquid, if you continue to add
energy you get a gas, and finally adding even more temperature, the kinetic
energy of the particles becomes high enough to ionize each other. In order to
keep the ions and electrons separate and stop them coming back together some
form of energy must be continually supplied. Typically plasmas glow, because
some of the energy they absorb is turned into light by collisions between
electrons and neutral atoms.
 When they recombine (nucleus catching electrons
and having them in orbit), chances are high that
they are ionized almost immediately, because of
the high temperature. So a plasma is in a dynamic
equilibrium of ionization and recombination,
depending on its temperature (and pressure etc.).
SOME PLACES WHERE PLASMAS ARE FOUND…

1. Flames
2. Lightning
3. Aurora (Northern Lights)
 EARTH IONOSPHERE

Galactic Cosmic Rays The Sun

Ionospheric plasma interactions

Earth Magnetosphere

Detectors on ISS
WHY PLASMA PHYSICS IS IMPORTANT TO SPACE PHYSICS AND
ASTROPHYSICS?

The reason is simple:

In stellar and solar atmosphere, in interstellar or
interplanetary space plasma is everywhere. How
can one understand the physics in these regions
without the knowledge of plasma physics?
WHAT IS IT?
 A hot ionized gas
 The ‘fourth state of matter’
 Unlike gases, solids, or liquids, plasma does not contain
molecules
 Instead, it is a gas that is composed of ions

 Composes more than 99% of the known visible

universe
SO WHAT’S IN IT?

 Some, or all, of the electrons in the outer orbitals

have been stripped away

 The result is a collection of ions and electrons,

which are no longer bound together
WHAT DID THAT MEAN?

 Because the particles are not neutral:

 Plasma behaves differently then regular gases
 For instance, in the presence of electromagnetic fields
WHO FOUND IT?

 First discovered by Sir William Crookes, in 1879

 But it wasn’t called ‘plasma’ until 1928, when

Irving Langmuir coined the term
CHARACTERISTICS: TEMPERATURE

 Defines two kinds of plasma: Cold and Hot

 Refers to the electron temperature

 Ion temperature may be very different (lower)

CHARACTERISTICS: DENSITY

ne
 Plasma (electron)
density
 The number of free
electrons per unit volume

ne  Z ni
CHARACTERISTICS: POTENTIALS
 Plasmas are excellent conductors
 Simple view:
 Due to the above, the electric fields in plasmas
tend to be very small
 Quasineutrality:
 On the one hand, we can assume that densities of
positive and negative charges are equal
 However, we can assume that electric fields exist
as needed for the physics at hand
HOW PLASMA IS DIFFERENT FROM AN IDEAL GAS

As a plasma has both ions and electrons, it has no overall charge, but
the presence of charged particles means that a plasma behaves very
differently from a gas.
 The particles don't interact very much in ordinary gas while in a

plasma the particles interact strongly because of their charges

(opposite charges attract and similar charges repel).
 A plasma can conduct a current, which a gas can't do (even the

plasma in the near-vacuum of space) .

 Plasmas also react strongly to electric and magnetic fields that give

the plasma characteristics that are never seen in gases (e. g. the
curtain like appearance of the aurora, the movement of solar flares)
 Like gas, plasma does not have a definite shape
or a definite volume unless enclosed in a
container; unlike gas, under the influence of a
magnetic field, it may form structures such as
filaments and beams
 Plasmas can also produce particle beams, and
emit radiation over all frequencies, from radio
waves, light, x-rays and gamma rays.
 DEBYE LENGTH
In plasma physics, the Debye length (also called Debye radius), named after the Dutch physicist
and physical chemist Peter Debye, is the scale over which mobile charge carriers (e.g. electrons)
screen out electric fields (Screening is the damping of electric fields caused by the presence of
mobile charge carriers) in plasmas and other conductors. In other words, the Debye length is the
distance over which significant charge separation can occur.
 A Debye sphere is a volume whose radius is the
Debye length, in which there is a sphere of
influence, and outside of which charges are
screened
 Local deviation from quasi-neutrality due to
thermal motion
 Characteristic length scale for a test particle to
sense the electrostatic forces exerted on it by the
other charges
 The distance over which significant charge
separation can occur.
 If an electric field is created in the plasma, the charged particles will
react to reduce the effect of the field. The lighter, more mobile,
electrons will respond faster to reduce the electric field. If a plasma
has excess of positive and negative particles, this excess would
create an electric field and the electrons will move to cancel the
charge.
 Debye length is inversely proportional to number density and hence
the shielding length decreases as the density increases. This results
because there are more electrons to cancel an existing change
distribution, and hence a shorter length scale to reach neutrality in
the plasma, as the density of the plasma increases. On the other
hand it will increase with temperature.
 The Debye length is helpful in understanding how a spacecraft affects
the space plasmas that surrounds it. In a collisionless plasma, a space
craft can develop a net negative charge, because for equal electron and
ion temperature, the electron flux is larger (m_i/m_e)^1/2 than the ion
flux, and the space craft potential becomes negative. Solar radiation can
liberate the photoelectrons from the surface of spacecraft, often
producing a sufficiently large negative current that the spacecraft
potential becomes positive. Any net charge will perturb the plasma in the
immediate vicinity of the space craft, a region referred as a plasma
sheath. The scale size of the perturbed region will be Debye length. At
distances larger than Debye length, the plasma will be completely
unaffected by the presence of the spacecraft.
PLASMA CRITERIA
The
The plasma

plasma approximation:
approximation: Charged
Charged particles
particles must
must bebe close
close enough
enough together
together that
that
each
each particle
particle influences
influences many
many nearby
nearby charged
charged particles,
particles, rather
rather than
than just
just interacting
interacting with
with
the
the closest
closest particle
particle (these
(these collective
collective effects
effects are
are aa distinguishing
distinguishing feature
feature of
of aa plasma).
plasma).
The
The plasma
plasma approximation
approximation is is valid
valid when
when the
the number
number of of charge
charge carriers
carriers within
within the
the
sphere
sphere ofof influence
influence (called
(called the
the Debye
Debye sphere
sphere whose
whose radius
radius is
is the
the Debye
Debye screening
screening
length)
length) ofof aa particular
particular particle
particle is
is higher
higher than
than unity
unity toto provide
provide collective
collective behavior
behavior ofof the
the
charged
charged particles.
particles. The
The motion
motion ofof particles
particles can
can cause
cause local
local concentrations
concentrations of of positive
positive
and
and negatively
negatively charges.
charges. These
These charge
charge concentrations
concentrations create
create long
long ranged
ranged coulombic
coulombic
fields
fields that
that affect
affect the
the motion
motion of
of charge
charge particles
particles away
away from
from charge
charge concentrations.
concentrations. TheThe
elements
elements of of the
the plasma
plasma affect
affect each
each other
other even
even atat large
large separations,
separations, giving
giving the
the plasma
plasma itsits
collective
collective behavior.
behavior.
Note:
Note: The
The Debye
Debye length
length is
is smallest
smallest natural
natural scale
scale in
in the
the plasma.
plasma. This
This is
is because
because every
every
particle
particle in
in plasma
plasma isis effectively
effectively shielding
shielding every
every other
other plasma
plasma on
on the
the Debye
Debye scale.
scale. It
It is
is
therefore,
therefore, characteristic
characteristic dimensions
dimensions ofof regions
regions inin which
which breakdown
breakdown of of neutrality
neutrality cancan
occur
occur inin the
the plasma.
plasma.
 Bulk
Bulk interactions:
interactions: The
The Debye
Debye screening
screening length
length (defined
(defined above)
above) is
is short
short compared
compared toto
the
the physical
physical size
size of
of the
the plasma.
plasma. This
This criterion
criterion means
means that
that interactions
interactions in
in the
the bulk
bulk of
of the
the
plasma
plasma are
are more
more important
important than
than those
those at
at its
its edges,
edges, where
where boundary
boundary effects
effects may
may take
take
place.
place. When
When this
this criterion
criterion is
is satisfied,
satisfied, the
the plasma
plasma is
is quasineutral.
quasineutral.

 Plasma
Plasma frequency:
frequency: TheThe electron
electron plasma
plasma frequency
frequency (measuring
(measuring plasma
plasma oscillations
oscillations of
of
the
the electrons)
electrons) is
is large
large compared
compared toto the
the electron-neutral
electron-neutral collision
collision frequency
frequency (measuring
(measuring
frequency
frequency of
of collisions
collisions between
between electrons
electrons and
and neutral
neutral particles).
particles). When
When this
this condition
condition is
is
valid,
valid, electrostatic
electrostatic interactions
interactions dominate
dominate over
over the
the processes
processes of
of ordinary
ordinary gas
gas kinetics.
kinetics.
 When you apply a potential difference to a plasma, electrons and
ions will be attracted by the positive and negative electrodes
respectively. The electric potential generated by the electrodes will
then we screened out by the charged particles. The screening decays
exponentially as you go away from the electrode.
A debye length is the length by which the potential has decayed 1/e.
“L” in plasma means the characteristic length of the ''plasma'‘(the
order of magnitude of a system). That is, when we talk about space
plasma, L is in the AU order, in tokamaks L is in the order of
meters, in neon lamps L is in the order of centimeters...and so on.
The condition L>>(lambda)_d is one of the 3 criteria that separates
a common ionized gas from a plasma
SUMMARY
 A plasma has the following properties:
 It also contains charged particles
 The number of charged particles is large enough to allow for
electromagnetic interactions
 A plasma is quasi-neutral: the number of positive and negative
 charges isalmost equal
 A plasma can interact with itself!
 The bahavior of a plasma is determined by electric and
 magnetic fields
 Large number of different types of waves
CONTD…..
 99% of the matter in the universe is plasma,
 The upper atmosphere, lightning, the liquid core of the
 Earth are natural plasmas in our direct environment,
 Technical applications
 Plasma fusion: containment of a hot plasma in a magnetic
field.
 Chemical industry, e.g. cyan synthesis
 Welding of metals
 Implantation of semiconductors
 .....
CONCEPT OF TEMPERATURE
 Plasma temperature is commonly measured in kelvins or
electronvolts and is, informally, a measure of the thermal
kinetic energy per particle.
 Very high temperatures are usually needed to sustain
ionization, which is a defining feature of a plasma.
 The degree of plasma ionization is determined by the
"electron temperature" relative to the ionization energy.
 At low temperatures, ions and electrons tend to recombine
into bound states—atoms, and the plasma will eventually
become a gas.
CONTD….
 Because of the large difference in mass, the
electrons come to thermodynamic equilibrium
amongst themselves much faster than they come
into equilibrium with the ions or neutral atoms. For
this reason, the "ion temperature" may be very
different from (usually lower than) the “electron
temperature". This is especially common in
weakly ionized technological plasmas, where the
ions are often near the ambient temperature.
Based on the relative temperatures of the lectrons, ions and
neutrals, plasmas are classified as thermal" or "non-
thermal".
 Thermal plasmas have electrons and the heavy particles

at the same temperature, i.e., they are in thermal

equilibrium with each other.
 Non-thermal plasmas on the other hand have the ions

and neutrals at a much lower temperature, (normally

room temperature), whereas electrons are much "hotter".
CONTD…..
 A plasma is sometimes referred to as being "hot" if
it is nearly fully ionized, or "cold" if only a small
fraction (for example 1%), of the gas molecules are
ionized, but other definitions of the terms "hot
plasma" and "cold plasma" are common. Even in a
"cold" plasma, the electron temperature is still
typically several thousand degrees Celsius. Plasmas
utilized in "plasma technology" ("technological
plasmas") are usually cold in this sense.