Life was simple when the dynamic, the spectral and the resolving powers of our instruments were small. One observed whole objects - planets, stars, sunspots, galaxies, often in rainbow colours. Then the revolution occurred: we acquired the centimetric eyes, the mil limetric eyes, the infrared eyes, the ultraviolet eyes, the X-ray eyes and the, -ray eyes. With these we see mottles on the surface of stars, streams in sunspots, and spirals in nuclei of galaxies. We see regions of multiple mass densities and temperatures in a precari ous balance, losing it occasionally, exhaling flares. The...
Life was simple when the dynamic, the spectral and the resolving powers of our instruments were small. One observed whole objects - planets, stars, su...
It is well established and appreciated by now that more than 99% of the baryonic matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Most astrophysical systems could be approximated as conducting fluids in a gravitational field. It is the combined effect of these two that gives rise to the mind boggling variety of configurations in the form of filaments, loops, jets and arches. The plasma structures that cannot last for more than a second or less in a laboratory remain intact for astronomical time and spatial scales in an astrophysical setting. The case in point is the well known extragalactic...
It is well established and appreciated by now that more than 99% of the baryonic matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Most astrophysical sys...
This work provides an introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids for graduate students of astronomy preparing either for a research career in the field or just aspiring to achieve a decent degree of familiarity with 99 per cent of the cosmos.
This work provides an introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids for graduate students of astronomy preparing either for a research career in th...