Plasma Physics
60 terms · page 1 of 3
Alfvén Wave
A fundamental magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave in which ions in a magnetized plasma oscillate in response to magnetic field line tension.
Plasma PhysicsBohm Sheath Criterion
A fundamental boundary condition stating that positive ions entering a non-neutral plasma sheath must enter with a velocity at or exceeding…
Plasma PhysicsBootstrap Current
A self-generated toroidal electric current in a tokamak plasma driven by trapped particle banana orbits in steep pressure gradients.
Plasma PhysicsBremsstrahlung Radiation in Plasma
Continuous electromagnetic radiation emitted when free plasma electrons undergo deceleration scattering off positive ions.
Plasma PhysicsBurning Plasma & Alpha Heating
The state of a fusion plasma where thermal heating from 3.5 MeV alpha particles produced in Deuterium-Tritium fusion reactions becomes the…
Plasma PhysicsCold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet
A non-thermal plasma discharge generated at ambient atmospheric pressure where heavy ions remain near room temperature while free electrons…
Plasma PhysicsCoulomb Logarithm
The natural logarithm of the ratio of maximum to minimum impact parameters in small-angle Coulomb collision integrals.
Plasma PhysicsCyclotron & Synchrotron Emission
Electromagnetic radiation emitted by charged particles undergoing gyromotion acceleration around magnetic field lines in a plasma.
Plasma PhysicsDebye Length
The characteristic spatial scale over which mobile charge carriers in a plasma screen out localized electrostatic potentials.
Plasma PhysicsDense Plasma Focus
A pulsed plasma device that uses electromagnetic forces to accelerate and pinch a plasma column into a short-lived, high-density hot spot.
Plasma PhysicsDivertor
A component in a fusion tokamak that uses magnetic null points (X-points) to extract helium ash and heat exhaust from the plasma edge.
Plasma PhysicsDusty Plasma
A complex plasma containing solid nanometer-to-micrometer scale dust grains that collect high negative charges from surrounding plasma…
Plasma PhysicsEdge Localized Modes (ELMs)
Periodic magnetohydrodynamic bursts occurring at the boundary edge pedestal of H-mode tokamak plasmas, expelling heat and particles toward…
Plasma PhysicsField-Reversed Configuration (FRC)
A high-beta compact toroid magnetic confinement concept where a closed-poloidal-field plasma torus is sustained inside a simple linear…
Plasma PhysicsFokker-Planck Equation for Plasmas
The kinetic equation describing the time evolution of a plasma velocity distribution function subject to small-angle Coulomb collisions.
Plasma PhysicsGyroradius & Cyclotron Frequency
The helical orbital radius (Larmor radius r_L) and angular frequency (cyclotron frequency ω_c) of a charged particle orbiting a magnetic…
Plasma PhysicsH-mode Confinement
High-confinement operating regime in tokamaks characterized by a steep edge pressure barrier (pedestal) and doubled energy confinement time.
Plasma PhysicsHall Effect Thruster
A electric space propulsion plasma engine that accelerates ions across an electrostatic potential drop using trapped electrons in an…
Plasma PhysicsInertial Confinement Fusion
A fusion energy approach that uses intense laser or ion beam pulses to rapidly compress and heat a millimeter-scale fuel capsule to fusion…
Plasma PhysicsInterchange & Flute Instabilities
A magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability where high-pressure plasma and low-density magnetic fields interchange spatial positions in regions…
Plasma PhysicsIonization Energy
The minimum energy required to detach an electron from a neutral atom or ion, initiating gas-to-plasma phase transformation.
Plasma PhysicsKink & Sausage Instabilities
Ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) macro-instabilities occurring in current-carrying pinched plasma columns.
Plasma PhysicsLandau Damping
The collisionless damping of electrostatic plasma waves caused by energy exchange between wave electric fields and particles moving near…
Plasma PhysicsLangmuir Probe
A diagnostic electrode inserted directly into a plasma to measure local electron temperature, plasma density, and floating potential from…