The Sun's Atmosphere

David I truly thought plasma in a star was a very hot gas compressed
into a liquid state. I know blood plasma is blood that is clear.
I can't remember where I got the idea that plasma created in a star was
liquid??? Why is it called the fourth state of matter? We think of hot
gases staying as a gas.(just using this heat to expand) When we see
those eruptions coming out of the sun,and curling and falling back to
the sun the material looks fluid. Bert

Bert posted:

Why is it called the fourth state of matter? We think of hot
gases staying as a gas.(just using this heat to expand)

A gas generally does not consist of mainly charged particles, but mostly
neutral atoms and molecules. A plasma consists of mostly charged particles
(electrons, ionized atoms, or even protons), and thus the electrostatic force
comes into play (along with the relatively high velocity of the particles)

When we see
those eruptions coming out of the sun,and curling and falling back to
the sun the material looks fluid.

The scale of these images is *huge*. It may look like a fluid, but it is
gaseous or a plasma, and not a liquid.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Bert posted:

Why is it called the fourth state of matter? We think of hot
gases staying as a gas.(just using this heat to expand)

A gas generally does not consist of mainly charged particles, but mostly
neutral atoms and molecules. A plasma consists of mostly charged particles
(electrons, ionized atoms, or even protons), and thus the electrostatic force
comes into play (along with the relatively high velocity of the particles)

When we see
those eruptions coming out of the sun,and curling and falling back to
the sun the material looks fluid.

The scale of these images is *huge*. It may look like a fluid, but it is
gaseous or a plasma, and not a liquid.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Thank you David Than I will think of stars "plasma" as a very hot gas
that is created by electrically charged particles(ions) Well that fits
with star forming nebular. Could ball lightning be a form of plasma?
Having a positive charge(repel) could be the reason it bounces. I can
see why now the Russians came up with the idea for the Tokamak,for it
can heat gases up to produce an electric charged(plasma) It failed I
think for two reasons.One it could not keep the plasma from touching the
walls. Two heat weakens a magnetic field(Curie effect) Still there is a
paradox here. Heat creates plasma and that has an electric field.
Magnetizim likes cold better than heat. The sun has lots of plasma,and
that means a strong magnetic field. Same goes for Jupiter,and it
might just be the reason the Earth has a core that produces a magnetic
field.(that has been a mystery) Bert

Thank you David Than I will think of stars "plasma" as a very hot gas
that is created by electrically charged particles(ions) Well that fits
with star forming nebular. Could ball lightning be a form of plasma?
Having a positive charge(repel) could be the reason it bounces. I can
see why now the Russians came up with the idea for the Tokamak,for it
can heat gases up to produce an electric charged(plasma) It failed I
think for two reasons.One it could not keep the plasma from touching the
walls. Two heat weakens a magnetic field(Curie effect) Still there is a
paradox here. Heat creates plasma and that has an electric field.
Magnetizim likes cold better than heat. The sun has lots of plasma,and
that means a strong magnetic field. Same goes for Jupiter,and it
might just be the reason the Earth has a core that produces a magnetic
field.(that has been a mystery) Bert

Bert posted:

I can
see why now the Russians came up with the idea for the Tokamak,for it
can heat gases up to produce an electric charged(plasma) It failed I
think for two reasons.

Well, the early ones failed to produce the temperatures and densities needed
for nuclear fusion, but the current Tokamaks have worked just fine, reaching
new record temperatures and confinement levels for the plasma. One at
Princeton did produce nuclear fusion reactions, although it did not generate
electrical power, since it was designed as a research instrument and not as a
power plant.

Magnetizim likes cold better than heat.

Only in solids. Gasses in the sun's atmosphere, for example, can support huge
magnetic structures like prominences or the bipolar sunspot groups.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Bert posted:

I can
see why now the Russians came up with the idea for the Tokamak,for it
can heat gases up to produce an electric charged(plasma) It failed I
think for two reasons.

Well, the early ones failed to produce the temperatures and densities needed
for nuclear fusion, but the current Tokamaks have worked just fine, reaching
new record temperatures and confinement levels for the plasma. One at
Princeton did produce nuclear fusion reactions, although it did not generate
electrical power, since it was designed as a research instrument and not as a
power plant.

Magnetizim likes cold better than heat.

Only in solids. Gasses in the sun's atmosphere, for example, can support huge
magnetic structures like prominences or the bipolar sunspot groups.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

David If true gases can have a charge when in a very hot state(plasma
state) and solids lose their magnetic field when very hot Would it make
a good theory that the earth's core is in a state of plasma,and this
plasma creates its magnetic field? Seems plasma would have to have a
positive charge. Charges can't be created or destroyed(conservation of
charges) That would mean solar flares,and most particles(mass)
blown into space should have a positive charge.Hmmm Lots of ideas come
out of this. Bert

David If true gases can have a charge when in a very hot state(plasma
state) and solids lose their magnetic field when very hot Would it make
a good theory that the earth's core is in a state of plasma,and this
plasma creates its magnetic field? Seems plasma would have to have a
positive charge. Charges can't be created or destroyed(conservation of
charges) That would mean solar flares,and most particles(mass)
blown into space should have a positive charge.Hmmm Lots of ideas come
out of this. Bert