Re: magnetic lines like these

[Chuck Britton <britton@odie.ncssm.edu>]

If you look at pictures of the sun's 'surface', you'll see giant arches of
glowing gasses. These arches are loops of magnetic flux. Sometimes, such an
arch can 'pinch-off', forming a CLOSED loop of B flux with the plasma
flowing around it, maintaining the flux. Perhaps these structures can
travel 100AU???

At 11:30 AM -0400 5/12/98, LUDWIK KOWALSKI wrote:
> > > "As a plasma moves through a magnetic field, the charged particles are
> > > trapped in spiral paths along the magnetic field lines. [OK so far.]
> > > The plasma becomes bound to the magnetic field. At the same time the
> > > plasma captures the magnetic field and holds it within the plasma. Once
> > > an organized flow of charged particles has been set up, it generates its
> > > own magnetic field (as does an electromagnet). This field from the moving
> > > particles maintains the magnetic field that first caused the current flow=
=2E
> > > So the original field is reinforced. Then if a plasma moves in bulk, it
> > > carries the magnetic field lines with it." (Zeilik, 1997, page 160)
> > > .......................................................................
>
>        Chuck Britton <britton@odie.ncssm.edu> wrote:
>
> > The picture I'm visualizing here is a bundle of magnetic flux lines that
> > have closed into a nearly circular loop. The electric charges are spiralin=
g
> > around this loop, sort of around the surface of a doughnut. The magnetic
> > loop wraps around the hole of the doughnut and the current is always
> > flowing through the hole in the same direction and wrapping back along the
> > outer edge of the doughnut. I suppose that the charge is always either +
> > or always - in a given doughnut or the counter moving opposite charges
> > would interfere with each other???
>
> I can visualize a nearly curcular =D2bundle of magnetic flux lines=D3. A si=
ngle-
> wire rectangular loop with a large current has two short segments (one abov=
e
> another, horizontally, for example)> The short segments are separated by ve=
ry
> long vertical segments. The current in vertical segments flows in opposite
> directions and their combined magnetic field is nearly zero everywhere. Sho=
rt
> segments, on the other hand, are so far away that their fields do not cance=
l.
> The field near each short segment is a nearly curcular =D2bundle of magneti=
c
> flux lines=D3.And I can imagine electons spiraling around a circular bundle=
 of
> such lines. A toroidal current of electrons, in a vacuum, if you wish.
>
> But what does this have to do with solar wind? Where are the particles whic=
h
> take the magnetic field from a region near a source (doughnut) to a region
> very far away from the source?  High speed electrons passing near the
> doughnut will travers the field, bending a little, and will eventually trav=
el
> along straight lines at constant velocities. The magnetic field associated
> with their motion has nothing to do with the magnetic field near the
> daughnut. And in the case of the macroscopically neutral solar wind (+ and =
-
> particles ejected from the Sun with the same mean speed) the net field of
> escaping particle must be zero. What does Zeilik mean by saying =D2this fie=
ld
> > from the moving particles maintains the magnetic field that first caused t=
he
> current  flow=D3? Something is not right with this explanation, I think, (o=
r
> with my physics).
>                                  Ludwik Kowalski


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Chuck Britton  					Education is what is left when
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North Carolina School of Science & Math		you learned in school.
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