IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 35, NO. 4, AUGUST 2007
Real Properties of Electromagnetic Fields and
Plasma in the Cosmos
Donald E. Scott
Abstract—Amajority of baryons in the cosmos are in the plasma
state. However, fundamental disagreements about the properties
and behavior of electromagnetic fields in these plasmas exist
between the science of modern astronomy/astrophysics and the
experimentally verified laws of electrical engineering and plasma
physics. Many helioastronomers claim that magnetic fields can
be open ended. Astrophysicists have claimed that galactic magnetic
fields begin and end on molecular clouds. Most electrical
engineers, physicists, and pioneers in the electromagnetic field
theory disagree, i.e., magnetic fields have no beginning or end.
Many astrophysicists still claim that magnetic fields are “frozen
into” electric plasma. The “magnetic merging” (reconnection)
mechanism is also falsified by both theoretical and experimental
investigations.
Index Terms—Magnetic fields, Maxwell equations, merging,
plasmas.
I. INTRODUCTION
PLASMA cosmology was formally introduced more than
25 years ago by Alfvén [1]–[3]. This paper was based on
his earlier experimental investigations and those of Birkeland
and Langmuir. They, in turn, had been motivated by the concepts
embodied in Maxwell’s equations. This compact set of
relations codifies the results of a long series of experiments
that were performed by the founders of electrical science. Thus,
plasma cosmology is not based simply on deductive reasoning
and mathematical formalisms, but rather on verified laboratory
evidence.
For example, an indication of the dominance of the magnetic
force is demonstrated by a ball bearing on a table. All of Earth’s
baryonic mass exerts a gravitational pull on the bearing, preventing
it from lifting off the table. Yet, the smallest horseshoe
magnet easily snatches it away. On a cosmic scale, magnetic
energy density can also exceed gravitational energy density. For
example, in the local supercluster, the magnetic field energy
density exceeds the gravitational energy density by at least an
order of magnitude [4].
The local interstellar medium has an estimated ion–electron
pair concentration in the range of 0.01–1/cm3. Thus, the volume
between the Sun and its nearest neighbor contains some
6 × 1054 ion–electron pairs. However, quantitative calculations
based on simple electrostatic forces between such particles
lead to erroneous conclusions. This is because double layers
(DLs) separate cells of plasma in space (e.g., heliospheres)
Manuscript received September 8, 2006; revised October 11, 2006.
The author, retired, was with the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 USA (e-mail:
dascott3@cox.net).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPS.2007.895424
such that electrostatic forces between bodies that are each
surrounded by such DL-bounded plasma cells are negligibly
weak. Homogeneous models often are found to be misleading
and should be replaced by inhomogeneous models, with the
inhomogeneities being produced by filamentary currents and
DLs that divide space into cells [5]. Space in general has a
cellular structure.
Theoretical analyses based on the classical plasma theory
often fail to correspond to real results that are obtained via
direct observation. On the other hand, simulations on supercomputers
and actual laboratory experiments provide accurate
descriptions of the behavior of such cosmic plasmas. Rotation
is an inherent result of interacting electric currents in plasma.
Computer models of two current filaments interacting in a
plasma have accurately reproduced details of spiral galaxy
rotation profiles [6]. Plasma cosmology also offers [1] a model
that predicted the existence of galactic jets and the behavior of
double-radio-source galaxies prior to their observation.
It is clear that a rigorous understanding of the real physical
properties of magnetic fields in plasmas is crucial for astrophysicists
and cosmologists. Incorrect pronouncements about
the properties of magnetic fields and currents in plasma will be
counterproductive if these conceptual errors are propagated into
publications and then used as the basis of new investigations.
There are some popular misconceptions.
1) Magnetic “lines of force” really exist as extant entities in
3-D space and are involved in cosmic mechanisms when
they move.
2) Magnetic fields can be open ended and can release energy
by “merging” or “reconnecting.”
3) Behavior of magnetic fields can be explained without any
reference to the currents that produce them.
4) Cosmic plasma is infinitely conductive, so magnetic fields
are “frozen into” it.
II. MAGNETIC LINES OF FORCE
Since the 1950s, some solar astrophysicists have asserted that
the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is really open ended [7],
with one end “anchored” to the Sun and the other waving in the
solar wind. Open field lines supposedly connect to the polar
regions of the Sun and define the polar coronal holes that are
prevalent at solar minima [8].
“The IMF originates in regions on the Sun where the magnetic
field is ‘open’—that is, where field lines emerging from
one region do not return to a conjugate region but extend
virtually indefinitely into space [9].”
0093-3813/$2
http://members.cox.net/dascott3/IEEE-TransPlasmaSci-Scott-Aug2007.pdf
The above is a link to one of the chief woo woo guys Dexter, he's got pretty good degrees.