The Fourth State of Matter: An Introduction to the Physics of Plasma - Softcover

Eliezer, Y; Eliezer, Shalom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0852741642 ISBN 13: 9780852741641

Publisher: CRC Press, 1989

Synopsis

Familiar as we are with three states of matter in our everyday surroundings - solid, liquid and gas - we may be surprised to learn that most of the known Universe is in a fourth state. This fourth state of matter known to physicists as plasma, is a fluid of electrically charged particles, often at very high temperatures. It is the stuff of which stars are made; at one time in the early Universe it was the state in which all matter was found. It occurs on Earth in lightning discharges and, more prosaically, in fluorescent light tubes. This book allows a glimpse through the plasma in our Universe. In The Fourth State of Matter a husband-and-wife team explain to the lay reader in simple English the nature and properties of plasma, its formation and what it's used for. Most importantly for future generations, research in plasma physics may help to control thermonuclear reactions and provide a virtually inexhaustible supply of energy.

About this title

Review

..."a difficult subject to write about in popular terms...Yaffa and Shalom Eliezer have undertaken a difficult task and carried it through with considerable success...combines factual substance with an easy-to-read and lucid presentation." Carl-Gunne Falthammar, Laser and Particle Beams, 10, 1, p. 213, 1992. ifficult subject to write about in popular terms...Yaffa and Shalom Eliezer have undertaken a difficult task and carried it through with considerable success...combines factual substance with an easy-to-read and lucid presentation." Carl-Gunne Falthammar, Laser and Particle Beams, 10, 1, p. 213, 1992.

Synopsis

The fourth state of matter, known to physicists as plasma, is a fluid of electrically charged particles, often at very high temperatures. It occurs on Earth in lightning discharges and, more prosaically, in fluorescent light tubes. It is hoped that research in plasma physics will lead in the near future to the ability to control thermonuclear reactions and thus provide a virtually inexhaustible supply of energy for the needs of mankind. Designed for the general science reader, this study explains the nature and properties of plasma, the conditions under which it can form and some of the uses to which it might be put.

Edition details

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0852741642
• ISBN 13: 9780852741641
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 363