Theory of Magnetic Reconnection
by Kristin Forrester
Key Terms:
- Plasma
- Magnetosphere
- Solar Wind
Plasma
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Plasma- Plasma is a phase of matter like solid, liquid, and gas.
What happens when you heat a solid? You get a liquid, when you heat a liquid,
you get a gas. When gas is heated to extreme temperatures the result is plasma.
A plasma is mainly a gas that had its electrons stripped from it. Since you
have free electric charges the plasma conducts electricity therefore it strongly
responds to electromagnetic fields.Original Picture |
Magnetosphere
| Magnetosphere- The Earth is like a magnet, and like a magnet it has a field
of magnetic energy encompassing it. The Earth's rapidly spinning liquid metal
core generates the "main field" of the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere side that
faces the sun is more compact than the side facing away from the sun. The Earth's
magnetic fields flow from the south pole to the north pole. The side facing away
from the sun is like a tail that has a plasma sheet in the center of it. The
job of the magnetosphere is to keep out plasma bursts from the sun. So whenever
the plasma bursts pass near Earth, the magnetosphere compressess to keep out
any unwanted materials.
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This picture is a good diagram of the the Earth's Magnetosphere and
its components.Original Picture |
Solar Wind
| Solar Wind- Solar Wind is an outflow of hot plasma from the sun. The sun rotates quickly
so the solar winds come out in arcs. Imagine a sprinkler that rotates as it
releases water, the water stream is arced. When the solar winds pass over the
Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetosphere compress; however, the plasma sheet within
the magnetosphere has traces of solar wind in it! The solar wind carries
with it the sun's magnetic properties. The shape of the magnetosphere is
subject to the solar wind. The sun is highly dynamic, every eleven years
the sun's poles switch sides, therefore the sun's solar winds can come in a
southward direction. Remember that the Earth's flows from south to north.
So if the sun's is flowing south and the earth's is flowing north, opposites
attract and Magnetic Reconnection occurs!Original Picture |
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Magnetic Reconnection
Magnetic Reconnection- Magnetic reconnection is a theory that states the
process of how magnetic field lines from different magnetic domains (Earth's
magnetosphere and the solar winds) are spliced, or joined, to one another,
changing the shape of the magnetic fields. Picture to lines, a blue on top
and a red on bottom, the blue is going left and the red is going right. Make
sure there is space between your lines, now imagine that plasma is pushing
lines together on the top of the blue line and the bottom of the red line.
The lines meet in the center, and splice together, you get a shape like the
letter X, now visualize that the plasma is pushing the lines away from each
other from the part where the lines meet. That is magnetic reconnection!
| The area near the neutral sheet is the plasma sheet. Magnetic reconnection
can occur on the sun-side of the magnetosphere and in the plasma sheet.
You see the earth's plasma and the Sun's plasma don't really mix, they are
isolated but the isolation is incomplete because of magnetic reconnection. |
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