Plasma physics Definition and 169 Threads

Hey everyone! I know you probably see new messages like this pop up quite a bit, but I am legitimately curious on this one. I have seen a few threads on the subject as in how to get into the field. I was personally wondering: Why should one study plasma physics? What kind of questions does it...

Hello, I'm new so I couldn't find a spot to put this in. I was wondering what's the minimum GPA for a plasma physics grad program especially fusion, I don't want good schools, I just want something that is enough to take me further. The thing is I dropped the ball hard my first year of college...

I am a young designer and attempting to design a plasma reactor. I have a lot of the design figured out, in theory, but my main problem is the type of plasma I would need to use that emits a large amount of thermal energy with as little materials needed to maintain efficiency. Any assistance...

Thank you for opening my first thread. I have just began studying Physics at a university in Hungary and would like to get some information about Network Science and Plasma Phyics/Nuclear Fusion. I am looking for a branche in Physics in which I can do research in the coming years and get a job...

Hi, I'm interested in this master's degree with a concentration in plasma physics at the University of Washington. However, I realized that the Aeronautics and Aerospace department department is part of the College of Engineering and I don't really want to follow engineering centric courses as...

Hello, I am a new member here at physics forums and find myself unsure of how to go about pursuing my career interest in nuclear fusion research, and if it is even something I should be pursuing at all. My goal is to some day work in fusion research, but everyone I have talked to about this...

I am interested in applying plasma physics in nuclear fusion program in France or Germany . Both are good in this field , but where i can get good scholarships and i am from electrical engineering background so where i have better chance of getting admitted.

Hello everyone. I am new in this forum. I am from Turkey and I want to go abroad for Ph.D. but I have concerns and a lot of questions in my mind. My GPA from BS is 2,98/4 (I know it is not good). This year my second year my master. Probably I will graduate with 3.50-4.00 GPA. My master...

Hello, I am Miles. My interests are very broad. I work in the fields of energy, communications, and space transportation, developing new systems that can hopefully solve some significant problems in these areas. My primary backgrounds are chemistry and electrical engineering, but I've...

I finished my bachelors in electronics and communication in 2014 from India. Since then I have worked as an Application Engineer in the VLSI domain at a reputed company. I would like to transition to Nuclear Fusion Physics. I am planning to give my Physics GRE in October 2015. Some background...

Hello I am looking to pursue a master or Ph.D in plasma physics focusing on fusion tokamak reactors. I have an undergrad in Comp Sci and am starting the necessary physics work to apply to grad school. Besides electromagnetics, are there other areas I should focus on? What are the best websites...

Hi there, I have some questions about plasma I wonder is it possible to use another gas (not inert gases) ?. and where i can find more information of plasma jet ? because it's almost have a copyright. Thank you.

Hi there, So I have two questions really. My first question is, I'm having a bit of trouble finding which books I should get to teach myself plasma physics. My school doesn't offer a course on the subject, sadly, so I asked my professors, who do nuclear research, and they didn't know which...

Homework Statement I need to calculate the drift speed, drift orbital period and current density for 1eV protons and 10eV electrons. The density is 5 cm^-3 The assumption is that it is only a grad-B drift Homework Equations <V> = [6*E/(qBo*L*Re)](0,35 + 0.15sin(a)) The Attempt at a Solution...

So I'm looking for opinions on the list of grad schools I'm looking to apply for. I am not sure if I am applying to too many "reach" schools or not. I am interested in doing plasma physics, most likely experiment and computation, but theory isn't completely out of the question either. First...

Hello, first post! Can anyone explain to me how an excimer is formed? Considering Xenon. I've gathered that an excited state Xe*, ground state Xe, and a 3rd body M react resulting in an Xe* excimer + M(carrying away excess energy). I'm struggling to find how the ground state Xe can have any...

I am interested in doing research in controlled nuclear fusion , i am doing my electrical engineering 4th year in India. Since no college in my country offers post graduation in fusion related fields , i have decided to do M.Tech in Nuclear science and technology in Indian Institute of Technolgy...

I liked my previous courses in statistical mechanics and fluid dynamics, however I don't really like E&M, especially at the Jackson level. I am thinking about doing research in plasma physics. Would I hate plasma physics if I didn't like electrodynamics? Or is that not an issue and does plasma...

I did my undergrad in mathematics, and I really enjoyed studying that subject. After graduating, I've been continuing my study in Real Analysis with one of my undergrad professors, and I really feel like I'm blooming into a decent analysis student. This week I'm going to start learning...

Does anybody know any topics within plasma physics that a 17 year could research in? I'm doing a qualification called the EPQ where students undertake a research project in any topic they would like and write a 5000 word essay. I'm in year 12 and have taken As level Maths and Further Maths. I...

I need to find the correct voltage to apply to a wire grid in order to repel a plasma of which I know the density (free electrons per volume) and the particle energy in eV. I see a Debye sheath as being analogous to what I will create with such a charge. The way I see it is that I will have...

I am an electrical engineering student doing my third year. I am interested in doing research in making fusion energy a commercial energy source by doing research in current techniques and also interested in creating new techniques for making fusion process continuous and efficient than...

I'm a Physics student in the UK planning to apply for a PhD in Plasma Physics this autumn, in the area of Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) specifically. The UK has a rather limited MCF university network, with only 3 universities playing a significant part. Two of these, Oxford and Imperial...

Hello everyone! I am about to finish my freshmen year in college and I have decided that I would eventually like to become a physicist. More recently, I have decided that I would like to study plasma physics and devote my time to work in controlled fusion. However, I have seen some threads on...

Hello, I just got a free application fee waiver from NYU and I was wondering if anyone here knows if they do any plasma physics research there? I might as well apply since its free, but I can't seem to find anywhere on their site someone who does plasma physics. I don't mind what department...

Hi all, I am an aspriing Fulbrighter looking into universities in Russia and Europe. My intended field in graduate school is in plasma physics and I have already had some research experience in plasma. I was wondering if there are any universities in Russia that have decent plasma physics...

Hi, I am into my pst graduation in Physics. And I would like someone to guide me in ho w to master this subject from basic level to the advanced level. What are the main topics one should know very well to start over this subject. It's applications as well. Thank You!

I was wondering which specific physics courses I should take while still in undergrad if I'm interested in experimental plasma physics (and might study it in grad school). I've taken all the intro courses for the major branches (electro theory, mechanics, QM, optics, thermal physics...

Hello all, I've been examining plasma physics and electricity (or at least trying to with a search engine) and have a few questions. 1. Can plasma be polarized? For example, if a magnet is placed with the "north" polarity near a magnet, will it maintain that shape? 2. If a wire carrying an...

Author: Francis F. Chen Title: Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1441932011/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Prerequisities: Introductory physics, modern physics, calculus through PDEs, E&M Contents: Undergraduate, upper level; Graduate...

Hey all, I'm looking for a good introductory book (I've had Physics 1 and 2, some thermo and modern) on plasmas because I will be doing research this summer in plasma physics. I have heard Francis Chen's "Introduction to Plasma Physics" is a good start. Any reviews on this book?

The context of this question is looking at straggling in plasma. I was told there was a simple differential geometry relationship between the following entities: dE/dx, dE/dy and dE/dt, where x,y are distance in perpendicular directions (axes on a plane), t is time and I'm using E to...

The consensus among a number of my (undergrad) peers is that the field of plasma physics is relatively dead and that nothing ground breaking has been done a long while. I would have liked to go to grad school for this but not as much if this is true.

I'm currently in my final year of an aircraft propulsion PhD and have become passionate about plasma physics, due to its fluid like similarities. I find engineering too-well-defined for my liking and would like to research in a less well defined field, i.e. physics. I am considering taking a...

I'm only a sophomore physics major, but I'm beginning to consider what I may want to study in graduate school, and hope to find some REU's that will complement these interests. I'd like to hear from others who are in the broad field of plasma physics. I'm back and forth between geophysics and...

I'm taking a short course in plasma physics, and we've covered quickly the magnetic mirror. So the idea is that an ion, say a proton, moves along a helical path along parallel B-field lines - say in z-direction. Then the lines converge towards the z-axis, forming a shape like a bottleneck, with...

I am looking forward to apply for Plasma Physics program in PPPL(Princeton) and Univ of Michigan. But I am not sure about what sort of recommendation letters I should send. I have one strong recomendation from my undergrad project supervisor(the project is plasma diagnostics in Hall Effect...

Homework Statement Consider a positive point charge +q, immersed in plasma. Show that the net charge in the Debye shielding cloud exactly cancels the test charge. Assume the ions are fixed and that e*phi <<< kTe. Homework Equations f(u) = A exp [-(1/2*m*u^2 + q*phi)/k_b*T_e] u is the...

I came upon this question in plasma physics

I am trying to understand the Grad Shafranov equation, and in particular its inputs and outputs. I understand that the equation determines the conditions under which plasma may be in equilibrium. In particular, the MHD equations of equilibrium state: \nabla p = J \times B and the...

I have a question about the diamagnetic current caused by plasma pressure gradients. Various plasma physics / MHD texts state that the current due to a plasma pressure gradient in a magnetic field is given by \mathbf{J} = \frac{\mathbf{B} \times \nabla p}{B^2} where p = nkT My question is, if...

Just curious what topics you would consider essential to understanding plasma physics. E&M seems obvious, but what else would you call prereqs?

It's an intro plasma physics course, and already starting to get to me... I'm asked to derive an expression for the drift velocity of a particle in a constant uniform E-field, and a slowly time-varying B-field. I've looked at a few books to see if I can even find the final result, so I...

Hi everyone. I am interested in studying plasma physics, but not so much in studying nuclear fusion. Is there a market for plasma physics research that is not geared toward nuclear fusion technology? Thanks

I'm trying to study concepts of fusion...please help in any means possible...Currently I'm studying freidberg's plasma physics but want to know more...

I happened to stumble across these books which seem to give decent backgrounds on the subject. Nuclear Reactions for Astrophysics: Principles, Calculation and Applications of Low-Energy Reactions by Ian J. Thompson and Filomena M. Nunes...

Hi, i'm studying a MEng Electrical and Mechanical engineering course in the UK. I've just started second year and have been approved by my advisor to take on an extra module next semester in plasma and astro physics. This module is intended for 4th year physics students and won't count...

I need to have information on plasma physics journals , articles , can anyone give me names of some useful sites which send mails on what happening in this field.

can anyone explain me what is the meaning of self consistency of plasma ?

Hi all, exams in a few weeks and having a bit of trouble understanding the characteristics of plasmas/sheaths. E.g. the following question from a sample paper "Describe the characteristics of the sheath that forms at the boundaries of confined plasma. In your answer state what is meant by the...