Abstract
A brief introduction to Plasma Physics is presented, focusing on ionized gases, the plasma constituting the greatest part of the visible (baryonic) Universe. Basic plasma features such as ionization degree and the condition of quasi-neutrality are discussed. A heuristic derivation of fundamental plasma parameters, such as plasma frequency and Debye length are given. Finally, the different possible approaches to the physical description of plasma dynamics are introduced.
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Notes
- 1.
Throughout the text \(e\) will denote the proton charge, while a generic charge will be written as \(e_0\).
- 2.
Numerical values given in different texts differ somewhat depending on the way in which the collisions are calculated, though they are all of the same order of magnitude. The values here are from Spitzer, “Physics of Fully Ionized Gases” [4].
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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Italia
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Chiuderi, C., Velli, M. (2015). An Introduction to Plasma Physics. In: Basics of Plasma Astrophysics. UNITEXT for Physics. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5280-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5280-2_1
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Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-5279-6
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-5280-2
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