Diffusion and Resistivity

Abstract

The infinite, homogeneous plasmas assumed in the previous chapter for the equilibrium conditions are, of course, highly idealized. Any realistic plasma will have a density gradient, and the plasma will tend to diffuse toward regions of low density. The central problem in controlled thermonuclear reactions is to impede the rate of diffusion by using a magnetic field. Before tackling the magnetic field problem, however, we shall consider the case of diffusion in the absence of magnetic fields. A further simplification results if we assume that the plasma is weakly ionized, so that charge particles collide primarily with neutral atoms rather than with one another. The case of a fully ionized plasma is deferred to a later section, since it results in a nonlinear equation for which there are few simple illustrative solutions. In any case, partially ionized gases are not rare: High-pressure arcs and ionospheric plasmas fall into this category, and most of the early work on gas discharges involved fractional ionizations between 10⁻³ and 10⁻⁶, when collisions with neutral atoms are dominant.

The original version of this chapter was revised. An erratum to this chapter can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22309-4_11