Collisional Boltzmann equation (and collision operators in Fokker-Planck forms.) Classical transport equations and collisional relaxation processes. Topics covered include: Motion of charged particles in space- and time-varying electromagnetic fields. The controlled release of more than 10 MW of fusion power has occurred within the strong confining fields of tokamak devices, and the world is now building the first experimental fusion power source, called ITER. Controlled fusion energy research reflects the remarkable success of plasma physics. Integrated circuits are manufactured using plasma processing, and plasma displays are status symbols of today's world of entertainment. Laboratory generated plasma are used to studied the fundamental properties of high-temperature matter, and they are employed for many valuable applications like surface processing and lighting. Most of the visible universe is in the plasma state.
Plasma is studied in the laboratory and in space. Since plasma motion generates electric and magnetic fields, plasma behavior exhibits sometimes very beautiful nonlinear physics. Plasma dynamics is often dominated by "collective" motion involving the correlated motion of large populations of neighboring particles. In plasma long-range electromagnetic forces are much more important than short range forces. Plasma physics is the study of "luminous matter", matter that has been heated sufficiently or prepared specially in order to be ionized. This is the first semester of a two-semester sequence in plasma physics. Michael MauelĮmail: to the APPH E6101x class information site. APPH E6101x Class Homepage APPH E6101x Site Information Plasma Physics 1 Prof.