Southwest Research Institute | 2018 Oct 22
Findings recently published by a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) space scientist shed new light on predicting the thermodynamics of solar flares and other “space weather” events involving hot, fast-moving plasmas.
The science of statistical mechanics is one of the pillars of understanding the thermodynamic behavior of phenomena with a large number of particles, such as gases. Classical statistical methods have stood the test of time for describing Earth-bound systems, such as the relatively dense mix of gases that makes up our air, explains Dr. George Livadiotis, a senior research scientist in SwRI’s Space Science and Engineering Division.
At thermal equilibrium, where heat energy is transferred equally among gas particles, their distribution falls into a predictable ratio — lots of low-velocity particles to only a few fast ones. The particles move chaotically, colliding with each other frequently. A statistical equation, known as a Maxwell-Boltzmann or Maxwellian distribution, accurately characterizes how this mix of particles of different speeds will be distributed on Earth.
However, Livadiotis says, things are different in space, which is actually not empty but filled with plasma, the so-called fourth state of matter. Plasma consists of electrically charged particles — it’s neither gas, liquid nor solid, although it often behaves like a gas. ...
Thermodynamic Origin of Kappa Distributions ~ George Livadiotis
- Europhysics Letters 122(5):1 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/122/50001