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Null Points in Space Plasma

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Proceedings of the Plasma Space Science Symposium

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 3))

Abstract

A special phenomenon occurs at a hyperbolic null point in a plasma and leads to the formation of a thin sheet of intense current. This may be the essential feature of solar flares and a current sheet of this sort appears at the magnetospheric boundary. A first approach to the theory is made by hydromagnetics and some orders of magnitude can be obtained. An interesting feature is the „reconnection“ of lines of force. When the current density has grown, the effective resistivity may much exceed the normal value and various kinds of instability may occur. Individual particles gain energy in the current sheet and their trajectories will be discussed.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, UK

    J. W. Dungey

Authors
  1. J. W. Dungey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Space Science and Applied Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., USA

    C. C. Chang  & S. S. Huang  & 

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© 1965 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Dungey, J.W. (1965). Null Points in Space Plasma. In: Chang, C.C., Huang, S.S. (eds) Proceedings of the Plasma Space Science Symposium. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7542-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7542-5_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-011-7544-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-7542-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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