plasma as a forth state of matter

1. PLASMA AS AN OBJECT OF
PHYSICAL RESEARCH
(KINGSEP A.S.)
KAIYRGALI ALTYNAY

2. PLASMA IS THE FOURTH STATE OF MATTER
• MOST OF US OBSERVE PLASMA OBJECTS EVERY DAY - THE SUN AND STARS,
LIGHTNING, ELECTRIC ARC WELDING, FLUORESCENT LAMPS.
• ULTRASHORT WAVES ARE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM SHORT WAVES IN
THAT THEIR FREQUENCY IS SO HIGH THAT THEY PASS THROUGH THE
IONOSPHERE WITHOUT REFLECTION.

3. THERMONUCLEAR FUSION, A
RATHER ATTRACTIVE
ALTERNATIVE TO FISSION
REACTORS, IS KNOWN BOTH IN
NATURAL CONDITIONS (THE
SUN AND STARS) AND IN
UNNATURAL ONES (A
HYDROGEN BOMB).
D + D ╦ 3HE + N + 3,3 MEV
D + T ╦ 4D + D ╦ T + P + 4,0 MEV
HE + N + 17,6 MEV
OR CONCLUDING BALANCE
5D = 4HE + 3HE + P + 2N + 24,9 MEV

4. HEAVY WATER
D2O (R = 1.1 G CM3, TMELT = 3.8°C, TBOIL = 101.4°C)
MAKES UP A FRACTION OF ABOUT 1/6800 IN NATURAL WATE
ALL THE ABOVE REACTIONS HAVE A CONSIDERABLE THRESHOLD DUE TO THE FORCES
OF COULOMB REPULSION BETWEEN THE NUCLEI.
heat the thermonuclear fuel to a temperature of T =

5. •NT ~ 1015 СМ - 3 SEC,
• WHERE
• N - IS THE CONCENTRATION OF PARTICLES
(IONS)
• T - IS THE REQUIRED RETENTION TIME OF
SUCH A PLASMA
The second condition, which
should ensure a self-sustaining
synthesis reaction (the so-called
Lawson criterion), looks like this:

6. PLASMA AS A CONTINUOUS MEDIUM
• THE FIRST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
PLASMA STATE OF A SUBSTANCE AND
THE GASEOUS STATE IS HIGH
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY.
• AT A "THERMONUCLEAR" TEMPERATURE
OF 10 KEV, HYDROGEN PLASMA TURNS
OUT TO BE ABOUT TWENTY TIMES A
BETTER CONDUCTOR THAN COPPER
UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS.

7. INSIDE THE CONDUCTING MEDIUM
• IF THE CONDUCTIVITY IS INFINITE, ANY
NON-ZERO EMF WOULD LEAD TO AN
INFINITE CURRENT THROUGH THE
CIRCUIT, THEREFORE, IN THE CASE OF
VERY HIGH CONDUCTIVITY, THE
MAGNETIC FIELD LINES ARE "GLUED" TO
THE SUBSTANCE, SO THAT THE MAGNETIC
FLUX THROUGH ANY MATERIAL CIRCUIT
REMAINS CONSTANT.
• A CURRENT OF SUFFICIENTLY HIGH
FREQUENCY CAN FLOW ONLY IN A THIN
LAYER NEAR THE SURFACE OF THE
CONDUCTOR.
• THE CURRENT AND THE FIELD SIMPLY DO NOT
HAVE TIME TO PENETRATE INTO THE DEPTH
OF THE CONDUCTING MEDIUM.

8. • GIANT FIELDS OF NEUTRON
STARS (PULSARS) TURN OUT
TO BE A DIRECT
CONSEQUENCE OF THE
FREEZING OF THE MAGNETIC
FIELD INTO THE PLASMA.
THEY ARE GENERATED
DURING THE
GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE
OF THE STAR.

9. 1) IMAGINE SOME PLASMA FORMATION
WITH A ZERO MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE
PLASMA VOLUME AND A NONZERO ONE
OUTSIDE IT.
2) A CURRENT MUST FLOW IN SOME NEAR-
SURFACE LAYER OF PLASMA

10. PLASMA AS AN ENSEMBLE OF PARTICLES
• SOLID - THEIR MOVEMENT IS VERY LIMITED
• LIQUID - MOLECULES HAVE MUCH MORE
FREEDOM
• GAS - THE MOLECULES (OR ATOMS) ARE ALMOST
FREE
• PLASMA - ITS PARTICLES SHOULD BE "EVEN
FREER". MOREOVER, AT LEAST THE ELECTRONS
ARE MOVING VERY FAST. THIS CAN BE SEEN FROM
THE EXPRESSION FOR THE CHARACTERISTIC
VELOCITY OF THERMAL MOTION:
• VT ~ (KT / MA )1/2, A = I, E.
where k is the Boltzmann constant, i, e
are the designations of the
components: ions and electrons.

11. QUASI-
NEUTRALITY
• THE PECULIARITY OF PLASMA IS THAT THE
NEGATIVE CHARGE OF ELECTRONS IN IT ALMOST
EXACTLY NEUTRALIZES THE POSITIVE CHARGE OF
IONS.
• THE PLASMA TENDS TO MAINTAIN ITS QUASI-
NEUTRALITY.
• THERE IS A RANDOM DISPLACEMENT -- STRONG
ELECTRIC FIELD ARISES IN THE PLASMA --
WHICH PREVENTS THE SEPARATION OF CHARGES
AND QUICKLY RESTORES QUASI-NEUTRALITY
THE MASS OF AN ELECTRON IS
ABOUT 2000 TIMES LESS THAN
THE MASS OF EVEN THE
LIGHTEST OF THE IONS -
HYDROGEN H +, RESPECTIVELY,
ITS THERMAL VELOCITY IS MUCH
GREATER.

12. CONCLUSION
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