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[Phys-l] a magnetic filament snapped.



from http://spaceweather.com/ (a nasa site) I read:

Yesterday on the sun, a magnetic filament snapped.

I would like to think that some of my sharp HS students might wonder about the 'basic physics' involved here.

I like to visualize 'lines of magnetic flux' as Faraday did.
Basic physics says that these flux lines have no ends - so how can they 'snap'?

I'm pretending to have an idea about how this could be, but would like some other input.

1st assumption: nasa's statement has some merit, at least from a descriptive point of view.
2nd assumption: we're talking about a very complex turbulent system of high speed
charged particles associated with this flux filament.

I can visualize a simple system that might have a bearing on this 'snap'.

Two disk magnets put face-to-face will have a 'simple' B-field around them.

If these two disks are forced apart from each other, the 'simple, single' field will separate into two 'simple' fields. This transition from one field to two separate fields is very complicated and I will invoke some complex turbulence to make an otherwise smooth transition into the 'snap'.

Totally bogus oversimplification on my part???

I like to pretend that large scale physical systems obey the basic laws of physics and that some sort of intuitive connection is possible. (WWFS - What Would Feynmann Say?)

TIA - Nomex underwear has been donned.