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1 Note 2 Chapter VI. On Possible Electric Phenomena in Solar Systems and Nebulae 2.1 The Sun 2.2 The Worlds in the Universe Note Extracted from: The Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition 1902-1903 By Kristian_Birkeland Volume 1: On the Cause of Magnetic Storms and The Origin of Terrestrial Magnetism Section 2. Chapter VI (published 1913) Original … Read more

First published in 1948 in the book The New Astronomy, Chapter 2, Section III, page 74 -79. 2nd ed. publ. 1955, Simon and Schuster, A Scientific American book Hannes Alfvén is an original contributor to the potent new discipline of magnetohydrodynamic, to which he brings a background of work in such varied and related fields … Read more

The visible universe is 99.999% plasma. So quite simply, if you don’t know how plasmas behave, you don’t know how the Universe behaves. It is worth noting that all cosmic plasma carries a magnetic field and electric currents. Even plasmas that are less than 1% ionized, may behave as a plasma, as do dusty plasmas … Read more

The quasi-neutrality of plasmas, means they tend overall to be electrically neutral. But plasmas can also violate quasi-neutrality, producing charged regions in double layers and particle beams, such as in M87’s jet, above. Introduction   1. What is plasma?   2. Where is plasma?   3. Why is plasma so?   4. Electrified plasmas   … Read more

An Alfvén wave is a wave that occurs in a plasma (or conducting fluid), resulting from the interaction of the magnetic fields and electric currents within it, causing an oscillation of the ions. Alfvén wrote in a letter to the journal Nature in 1942: “If a conducting liquid is placed in a constant magnetic field, … Read more

The Alpha-Centauri medal was created by Hannes Alfvén, and is to be given to the first person who is able to prove whether the star Alpha-Centauri is made of either normal matter or anti-matter. The medal is held by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). A drawing of the medal can be seen in EOS Transactions, … Read more

In 2004, New Scientist, published an open letter from Eric Lerner and about 30 other scientists,[1] criticizing the Big Bang theory, and noting that there are other theories to consider. The text of the letter is reproduced in full below. It originally appeared at cosmologystatement.org (copy). Full text An Open Letter to the Scientific Community … Read more

An astrophysical plasma is a plasma (an ionised gas) found in astronomy whose physical properties are studied in the science of astrophysics. The vast majority of the volume of the universe is thought to consist of plasma, a state of matter in which atoms and molecules are so hot, that they have ionized by breaking … Read more

The aurora (plural aurorae/auroras) is a bright glow observed in the night sky, usually in the polar zone. For this reason some scientists call it a “polar aurora” (or “aurora polaris”). In northern latitudes, it is known as the aurora borealis (IPA Template:IPA), which is named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and … Read more

A Birkeland current usually refers to the electric currents in a planet’s ionosphere that follows magnetic field lines (ie field-aligned currents), and sometimes used to described any field-aligned electric current in a space plasma.[3] They are caused by the movement of a plasma perpendicular to a magnetic field. Birkeland currents often show filamentary, or twisted … Read more