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| {{mergeto|Plasma cosmology}} | |||
| '''Article under development''' | |||
| ]'' (Sep 1986) featuring Hannes Alfvén's popular introductory article on the subject]] | |||
| The '''Plasma Universe''' is ]'s "...model based on the emissions and behavior of the most prevalent material in the universe.. ]" <ref>Alfven, Hannes, "" (1986) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. PS-14, Dec. 1986, p. 629-638. </ref> <ref>Hannes Alfvén, "The plasma universe" ''Physics Today'', Sep 1986</ref>. | |||
| ==Origin of the term== | |||
| The term was originally coined to"... emphasize the fact that plasma phenomenon discovered in the laboratory and in accessible regions of space, must be important also in the rest of the universe, which consists almost entirely of matter in the plasma state" <ref>Falthammar, C. G. "" ''Basic Plasma Processes in the Sun''. Proceedings of the 142nd. Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Bangalore, India, December 1-5, 1989.</ref> Subsequent to Alfvén's and other plasma physicists' publications on the matter, ] has come to play a major role in ] research programs. Astronomers recognize the tremendous importance that plasma processes play in observed astrophysical phenomena. | |||
| The Plasma Universe ideas are generally marginalized in the ]. For example, while it's considered fact that most of the baryonic matter in the universe is plasma, some astronomers consider that upwards of 96% of the material energy-density in the universe is non-baryonic ] or ]. As such, the suggestions of the Plasma Universe as it regards cosmology and certain proponents skepticism towards the ] is ] and has been personally criticized by one cosmologist.<ref>See, for example, cosmologist ]'s criticism of ]'s suggestions: .</ref> | |||
| ==Areas of applicability== | |||
| The Plasma Universe applies to diverse areas of astronomy including the origin of the Universe<ref>Hannes Alfvén, "" (1988) ''Laser and Particle Beams'' (ISSN 0263-0346), vol. 6, Aug. 1988, p. 389-398</ref>, | |||
| the formation of ]<ref>Peratt, Anthony L., "" (1986) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. PS-14, Dec. 1986, p. 763-778.</ref>, | |||
| ]<ref>Alfven, H.; Carlqvist, P., "" (1978) ''Astrophysics and Space Science'', vol. 55, no. 2, May 1978, p. 487-509</ref>, ], to areas such ] <ref>Peratt, Anthony L. "" (1986) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. PS-14, Dec. 1986, p. 639-660.</ref>, | |||
| ]<ref>Wells, Daniel R.; Bourouis, Mohammad, "" (1989) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. 17, April 1989, p. 270-281.</ref>, and the ]<ref>Wells, Daniel R., "" (1990) IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. 18, Feb. 1990, p. 73-76</ref>, | |||
| and the origin of ]<ref>Trubnikov, Boris A. "" (1992) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. 20, no. 6, p. 898-904.</ref>, | |||
| the cellular nature of space<ref>Alfven, H. "" (1990) ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' (ISSN 0093-3813), vol. 18, Feb. 1990, p. 5-10.</ref>, | |||
| and electric currents in cosmic plasmas<ref>Peratt, A. L., "" (1996) ''Astrophys. Space Sci.'', 244, 89-103 (1996)</ref>. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Hannes Alfvén developed his idea of the "Plasma Universe" based on his experience in the field. Inspired by the earlier work of ] and ], Alfvén proposed that although interstellar space was thought to be a ]{{citation needed}} and consequently unable to support an electrical current, he argued that if diffuse plasma pervaded the universe, then it could carry electric currents that could generate a galactic magnetic field<ref>Alfvén, H., 1937 "Cosmic Radiation as an Intra-galactic Phenomenon", ''Ark. f. mat., astr. o. fys.'' 25B, no. 29.</ref> | |||
| In 1950, Alfvén published the first edition of his book ''Cosmical Electrodynamics'' in which he highlights: | |||
| :"Physics is mainly based on experience gained in the laboratory. When we try to apply to cosmic phenomenon the laws in which this experience is condensed, we make an enormous extrapolation, the legitimacy of which can be checked only by comparing the theoretical results with observations. | |||
| :It seems very probably that electromagnetic phenomenon will prove to be of great importance in cosmic physics. No definite reasons are known why it should not be possible to extrapolate the laboratory results in this field to cosmic physics."<ref>Alfvén, H., ''Cosmical Electrodynamics'', Oxford Clarendon Press, 1950 (Note: this substantially different from the later 2nd edition)</ref> | |||
| ==Footnotes== | |||
| <div style="font-size: 95%"> | |||
| <!--See ] for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags--> | |||
| <references/> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *Alfvén, H., '''' (Book) Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Volume 82, 1981. 178 p. | |||
| *Lerner, E., '', New York: Times Books/Random House, c1991. 1st ed. | |||
| *Peratt, A. L., "" (Book) 372pp. 208 figs.. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York | |||
| ==External Links== | |||
| * at Los Alamos National Laboratory | |||
| * , Eric Lerner. See also: | |||
| ** Edward Wright, "''''". | |||
| ** Eric Lerner, "''Dr. Wright is Wrong -- | |||
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