This is a list of plasma physics topics.

A

Ablation Ablation ( – removal) is the removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosion, erosive processes, or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, including spacecraft material for as ...

* Abradable coating * Abraham–Lorentz force *

Absorption band In spectroscopy, an absorption band is a range of wavelengths, frequency, frequencies or energies in the electromagnetic spectrum that are characteristic of a particular transition from initial to final state in a substance. According to quantum ...

Accretion disk An accretion disk is a structure (often a circumstellar disk) formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body. The central body is most frequently a star. Friction, uneven irradiance, magnetohydrodynamic effects, and ...

Active galactic nucleus An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such e ...

Adiabatic invariant A property of a physical system, such as the entropy of a gas, that stays approximately constant when changes occur slowly is called an adiabatic invariant. By this it is meant that if a system is varied between two end points, as the time for the ...

ADITYA (tokamak) ADITYA is a medium size tokamak installed at the Institute for Plasma Research in India. Its construction began in 1982, and it was commissioned in 1989. It was the first tokamak in India. It has a major radius of 0.75 metres and a minor radius of ...

Aeronomy Aeronomy is the scientific study of the upper atmosphere of the Earth and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets. It is a branch of both atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics. Scientists specializing in aeronomy, know ...

* Afterglow plasma *

Airglow Airglow is a faint emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. In the case of Earth's atmosphere, this optical phenomenon causes the night sky never to be completely dark, even after the effects of starlight and diffuse sky radiation, diffuse ...

* Air plasma,

Corona treatment Corona treatment (sometimes referred to as air plasma) is a surface modification technique that uses a low temperature corona discharge plasma to impart changes in the properties of a surface. The corona plasma is generated by the application ...

, Atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment *

Ayaks The Ayaks () is a Hypersonic flight, hypersonic waverider aircraft program started in the Soviet Union and currently under development by the Hypersonic Systems Research Institute (HSRI) of Leninets Holding Company in Saint Petersburg, Russia. S ...

, Novel "Magneto-plasmo-chemical engine" *

Alcator C-Mod Alcator C-Mod was a tokamak (a type of magnetically confined fusion device) that operated between 1991 and 2016 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). Notable for its high toroidal magnetic ...

Alfvén wave In plasma physics, an Alfvén wave, named after Hannes Alfvén, is a type of plasma wave in which ions oscillate in response to a restoring force provided by an Magnetic tension force, effective tension on the magnetic field lines. Definition ...

Ambipolar diffusion Ambipolar diffusion is diffusion of positive and negative particles with opposite electrical charge (such as electrons and positive ions) due to their interaction via an electric field. In plasma In plasma physics, ambipolar diffusion is rel ...

Aneutronic fusion Aneutronic fusion is any form of fusion power in which very little of the energy released is carried by Neutron, neutrons. While the lowest-threshold Nuclear fusion#Important reactions, nuclear fusion reactions release up to 80% of their energy in ...

* Anisothermal plasma *

Anisotropy Anisotropy () is the structural property of non-uniformity in different directions, as opposed to isotropy. An anisotropic object or pattern has properties that differ according to direction of measurement. For example, many materials exhibit ve ...

Antiproton Decelerator The Antiproton Decelerator (AD) is a storage ring at the CERN laboratory near Geneva. It was built from the Antiproton Collector (AC) to be a successor to the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR) and started operation in the year 2000. Antiprotons ...

* Appleton-Hartree equation * Arcing horns *

Arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...

Arc suppression Arc suppression is the reduction of the electric arc energy that occurs when current-carrying contacts are opened and closed. An electric arc is a man-made, continuous arc-discharge consisting of highly energized electrons and ions supported by an e ...

ASDEX Upgrade ASDEX Upgrade (''Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment'') is a divertor tokamak at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching that went into operation in 1991. At present, it is Germany's second largest nuclear fusion, fusion experiment ...

, Axially Symmetric Divertor EXperiment *

Astron (fusion reactor) The Astron is a type of fusion power device pioneered by Nicholas Christofilos and built at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during the 1960s and 70s. Astron used a unique confinement system that avoided several of the problems found in ...

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

* Astrophysical plasma *

Astrophysical X-ray source Astrophysical X-ray sources are astronomical objects with physical properties which result in the emission of X-rays. Several types of astrophysical objects emit X-rays. They include galaxy clusters, black holes in active galactic nuclei (AG ...

Atmospheric dynamo The Atmospheric dynamo is a pattern of electrical currents that are set up in the Earth's ionosphere by multiple effects, mostly the Sun's solar wind, but also the tides of the Moon and Sun. The currents flow in circuits between the poles and the eq ...

* Atmospheric escape * Atmospheric pressure discharge * Atmospheric-pressure plasma *

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

Atomic emission spectroscopy Atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) is a method of chemical analysis that uses the intensity of light emitted from a flame, plasma, arc, or spark at a particular wavelength to determine the quantity of an element in a sample. The wavelength of ...

Atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...

* Atomic-terrace low-angle shadowing *

Auger electron spectroscopy A Hanford scientist uses an Auger electron spectrometer to determine the elemental composition of surfaces. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES; pronounced in French) is a common analytical technique used specifically in the study of surfaces and, ...

Aurora (astronomy) An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

B

* Babcock Model *

Ball lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as Luminosity, luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is repor ...

* Ball-pen probe * Ballooning instability *

Baryon acoustic oscillations In cosmology, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) are fluctuations in the density of the visible baryonic matter (normal matter) of the universe, caused by Acoustics, acoustic density waves in the primordial plasma of the early universe. In the s ...

Beam-powered propulsion Beam-powered propulsion, also known as directed energy propulsion, is a class of aircraft or spacecraft propulsion that uses energy beamed to the spacecraft from a remote power plant to provide energy. The beam is typically either a microwave or a ...

Beta (plasma physics) The beta of a plasma, symbolized by , is the ratio of the plasma pressure (''p'' = ''n'' ''k''B ''T'') to the magnetic pressure (''p''mag = ''B''2/2 ''μ''0). The term is commonly used in studies of the Sun and Earth's magnetic field, and in t ...

Birkeland current A Birkeland current (also known as field-aligned current, FAC) is a set of electrical currents that flow along geomagnetic field lines connecting the Earth's magnetosphere to the Earth's high latitude ionosphere. In the Earth's magnetosphere, th ...

* Blacklight Power *

Blazar A blazar is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a relativistic jet (a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light) directed very nearly towards an observer. Relativistic beaming of electromagnetic radiation from the ...

Bohm diffusion The diffusion of plasma across a magnetic field was conjectured to follow the Bohm diffusion scaling as indicated from the early plasma experiments of very lossy machines. This predicted that the rate of diffusion was linear with temperature and in ...

* Bohr–van Leeuwen theorem * Boltzmann relation *

Bow shock In astrophysics, bow shocks are shock waves in regions where the conditions of density and pressure change dramatically due to blowing stellar wind. Bow shock occurs when the magnetosphere of an astrophysical object interacts with the nearby fl ...

Bremsstrahlung In particle physics, bremsstrahlung (; ; ) is electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of a charged particle when deflected by another charged particle, typically an electron by an atomic nucleus. The moving particle loses kinetic ...

* Bussard ramjet

C

Capacitively coupled plasma A capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) is one of the most common types of industrial plasma sources. It essentially consists of two metal electrodes separated by a small distance, placed in a reactor. The gas pressure in the reactor can be lower tha ...

* Carbon nanotube metal matrix composites *

Cassini–Huygens ''Cassini–Huygens'' ( ), commonly called ''Cassini'', was a space research, space-research mission by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a space probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, i ...

, Cassini Plasma Spectrometer *

Cathode ray Cathode rays are streams of electrons observed in discharge tubes. If an evacuated glass tube is equipped with two electrodes and a voltage is applied, glass behind the positive electrode is observed to glow, due to electrons emitted from the c ...

Cathodic arc deposition {{Short description, Type of physical vapor deposition technique Cathodic arc deposition or Arc-PVD is a physical vapor deposition technique in which an electric arc is used to vaporize material from a cathode target. The vaporized material then co ...

Ceramic discharge metal-halide lamp A ceramic metal-halide lamp (CMH), also generically known as a ceramic discharge metal-halide (CDM) lamp, is a type of metal-halide lamp that is 10–20% more efficient than the traditional quartz metal halide and produces a superior color ren ...

Charge carrier In solid state physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. ...

Charged-device model The charged-device model (CDM) is a model for characterizing the susceptibility of an electronic device to damage from electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two differently ...

Charged particle In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. For example, some elementary particles, like the electron or quarks are charged. Some composite particles like protons are charged particles. An ion, such as a molecule or atom ...

* Chemical plasma *

Chemical vapor deposition Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high-quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer (electro ...

* Chemical vapor deposition of diamond * Chirikov criterion *

Chirped pulse amplification Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique for amplifying an ultrashort laser pulse up to the petawatt level, with the laser pulse being stretched out temporally and spectrally, then amplified, and then compressed again. The stretching and ...

Chromatography detector A chromatography detector is a device that detects and quantifies separated compounds as they elute from the chromatographic column. These detectors are integral to various chromatographic techniques, such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatogra ...

* Chromo–Weibel instability *

Classical-map hypernetted-chain method The classical-map hypernetted-chain method (CHNC method) is a method used in many-body theoretical physics for interacting uniform electron liquids in two and three dimensions, and for non-ideal plasmas. The method extends the famous hypernetted ...

Cnoidal wave In fluid dynamics, a cnoidal wave is a nonlinear and exact periodic wave solution of the Korteweg–de Vries equation. These solutions are in terms of the Jacobi elliptic function ''cn'', which is why they are coined ''cn''oidal waves. They ar ...

* Colored-particle-in-cell *

Coilgun A coilgun is a type of mass driver consisting of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a linear motor that accelerate a ferromagnetic or conducting projectile to high velocity. In almost all coilgun configurations, t ...

Cold plasma Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

Ozone generator Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lowe ...

* Collisionality * Colored-particle-in-cell * Columbia Non-neutral Torus *

Comet tail A comet tail and coma are visible features of a comet when they are illuminated by the Sun and may become visible from Earth when a comet passes through the inner Solar System. As a comet approaches the inner Solar System, solar radiation cause ...

Compact toroid A compact toroid (CT) is a type of plasmoid, a class of toroidal plasma configuration that is self-stable, and which does not need magnet coils running through the center of the toroid. They are studied mainly in the field of fusion power, where ...

Compressibility In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility or, if the temperature is held constant, the isothermal compressibility) is a measure of the instantaneous relative volume change of a f ...

* Compton–Getting effect *

Contact lithography Contact lithography, also known as contact printing, is a form of photolithography whereby the image to be printed is obtained by illumination of a photomask in direct contact with a substrate coated with an imaging photoresist layer. History The ...

Coupling (physics) In physics, two objects are said to be coupled when they are interacting with each other. In classical mechanics, coupling is a connection between two Oscillation, oscillating systems, such as pendulums connected by a spring. The connection affec ...

Convection cell In fluid dynamics, a convection cell is the phenomenon that occurs when density differences exist within a body of liquid or gas. These density differences result in rising and/or falling convection currents, which are the key characteristics o ...

Cooling flow A cooling flow occurs when the intracluster medium (ICM) in the centres of galaxy clusters should be rapidly cooling at the rate of tens to thousands of solar masses per year. This should happen as the ICM (a plasma) is quickly losing its energy ...

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

Corona discharge A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor (material), conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air (or other fluid) has undergone ...

Corona ring In electrical engineering, a corona ring, more correctly referred to as an anti-corona ring, is a toroid of conductive material, usually metal, which is attached to a terminal or other irregular hardware piece of high voltage equipment. The pu ...

Coronal loop In solar physics, a coronal loop is a well-defined arch-like structure in the Sun's Stellar atmosphere, atmosphere made up of relatively dense Plasma (physics), plasma confined and isolated from the surrounding medium by magnetic flux tubes. Co ...

* Coronal radiative losses * Coronal seismology *

Cosmic microwave background radiation The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR), or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dar ...

* Cotton–Mouton effect *

Coulomb collision A Coulomb collision is a binary elastic collision between two charged particles interacting through their own electric field. As with any inverse-square law, the resulting trajectories of the colliding particles is a hyperbolic Keplerian orbit. Th ...

* Coulomb explosion * Columbia Non-neutral Torus * Crackle tube *

Critical ionization velocity Critical ionization velocity (CIV), or critical velocity (CV), is the relative velocity between a neutral gas and plasma (an ionized gas), at which the neutral gas will start to ionize. If more energy is supplied, the velocity of the atoms or mol ...

Crookes tube A Crookes tube: light and dark. Electrons (cathode rays) travel in straight lines from the cathode ''(left)'', as shown by the shadow cast by the metal Maltese cross on the fluorescence of the righthand glass wall of the tube. The anode is the ...

Current sheet A current sheet is an electric current that is confined to a surface, rather than being spread through a volume of space. Current sheets feature in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), a model of electrically conductive fluids: if there is an electric cu ...

Cutoff frequency In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced ( attenuated or reflected) rather than ...

Cyclotron radiation In particle physics, cyclotron radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted by non-relativistic accelerating charged particles deflected by a magnetic field. The Lorentz force on the particles acts perpendicular to both the magnetic field lin ...

D

Debye length In plasmas and electrolytes, the Debye length \lambda_\text (Debye radius or Debye–Hückel screening length), is a measure of a charge carrier's net electrostatic effect in a solution and how far its electrostatic effect persists. With each D ...

Debye sheath The Debye sheath (also electrostatic sheath) is a layer in a plasma which has a greater density of positive ions, and hence an overall excess positive charge, that balances an opposite negative charge on the surface of a material with which it is ...

Deep reactive-ion etching Deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) is a special subclass of reactive-ion etching (RIE). It enables highly anisotropy, anisotropic etching (microfab), etch process used to create deep penetration, steep-sided holes and trenches in wafer (semiconducto ...

Degenerate matter Degenerate matter occurs when the Pauli exclusion principle significantly alters a state of matter at low temperature. The term is used in astrophysics to refer to dense stellar objects such as white dwarfs and neutron stars, where thermal press ...

* Degree of ionization * DEMO, DEMOnstration Power Plant *

Dense plasma focus A dense plasma focus (DPF) is a type of Plasma (physics), plasma generating system originally developed as a fusion power device, starting in the early 1960s. The system demonstrated Power law, scaling laws that suggested it would not be useful in ...

Dielectric barrier discharge Dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) is the electrical discharge between two electrodes separated by an insulating dielectric barrier. Originally called silent (inaudible) discharge and also known as ozone production discharge or partial disc ...

Diffusion damping In modern cosmological theory, diffusion damping, also called photon diffusion damping, is a physical process which reduced density inequalities ( anisotropies) in the early universe, making the universe itself and the cosmic microwave background ...

* DIII-D (tokamak) * Dimensional analysis *

Diocotron instability A diocotron instability is a plasma instability created by two sheets of charge slipping past each other. Energy is dissipated in the form of two surface waves which propagate in opposite directions, one flowing over the other. This instability i ...

* Direct-current discharge *

Directed-energy weapon A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include ...

* Direct bonding * distribution function *

Divertor In magnetic confinement fusion, a divertor is a magnetic field configuration which diverts the heat and particles escaped from the magnetically confined plasma to dedicated plasma-facing components, thus spatially separating the region plasma ...

Doppler broadening In atomic physics, Doppler broadening is broadening of spectral lines due to the Doppler effect caused by a distribution of velocities of atoms or molecules. Different velocities of the emitting (or absorbing) particles result in different Doppl ...

Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...

Double layer (plasma) A double layer is a structure in a plasma consisting of two parallel layers of opposite electrical charge. The sheets of charge, which are not necessarily planar, produce localised excursions of electric potential, resulting in a relatively strong ...

* Dual segmented Langmuir probe, Non-Maxwellian Features in Ionospheric Plasma *

Duoplasmatron The Duoplasmatron is an ion source in which a cathode filament emits electrons into a vacuum chamber. A gas such as argon is introduced in very small quantities into the chamber, where it becomes charged or ionized through interactions with the f ...

Dusty plasma A dusty plasma is a Plasma (physics), plasma containing micrometer (10−6) to nanometer (10−9) sized particles suspended in it. Dust particles are charged and the plasma and particles behave as a plasma. Dust particles may form larger particles ...

Dynamo theory In physics, the dynamo theory proposes a mechanism by which a celestial body such as Earth or a star generates a magnetic field. The dynamo theory describes the process through which a rotating, convection, convecting, and electrically conductin ...

E

Earth's magnetic field Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from structure of Earth, Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from ...

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as HT-7U (Hefei Tokamak 7 Upgrade), is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, China. Operated by the Hefei Institutes of Physical Sc ...

(EAST) *

Ectons Ectons are explosive electron emissions observed as individual packets or avalanches of electrons, occurring as microexplosions at the cathode. The electron current in an ecton starts flowing as a result of overheating of the metal cathode because ...

Eddington luminosity The Eddington luminosity, also referred to as the Eddington limit, is the maximum luminosity a body (such as a star) can achieve when there is balance between the force of radiation acting outward and the gravitational force acting inward. The stat ...

Edge-localized mode An edge-localized mode (ELM) is a plasma instability occurring in the edge region of a tokamak plasma due to periodic relaxations of the edge transport barrier in high-confinement mode. Each ELM burst is associated with expulsion of particles and ...

* Ekman number *

Elastic collision In physics, an elastic collision occurs between two physical objects in which the total kinetic energy of the two bodies remains the same. In an ideal, perfectly elastic collision, there is no net loss of kinetic energy into other forms such a ...

Electrical breakdown In electronics, electrical breakdown or dielectric breakdown is a process that occurs when an electrically insulating material (a dielectric), subjected to a high enough voltage, suddenly becomes a conductor and current flows through it. All ...

Electrical conductor In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is an object or type of material that allows the flow of charge (electric current) in one or more directions. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors. The flow of negatively c ...

Electrical mobility Electrical mobility is the ability of charged particles (such as electrons or protons) to move through a medium in response to an electric field that is pulling them. The separation of ions according to their mobility in gas phase is called ion ...

Electrical resistance and conductance The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current. Its Multiplicative inverse, reciprocal quantity is , measuring the ease with which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance share ...

Electrical resistivity and conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called volume resistivity or specific electrical resistance) is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity in ...

Electrical treeing In electrical engineering, treeing is an electrical pre-breakdown phenomenon in solid insulation. It is a damaging process due to partial discharges and progresses through the stressed dielectric insulation, in a path resembling the branches o ...

Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a ...

Electric-field screening In physics, screening is the damping of electric fields caused by the presence of mobile charge carriers. It is an important part of the behavior of charge-carrying mediums, such as ionized gases (classical plasmas), electrolytes, and electron ...

Electric arc An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ( ...

Electric arc furnace An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a Industrial furnace, furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc. Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundry, foundries for producin ...

, Plasma arc furnace *

Electric current An electric current is a flow of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is defined as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface. The moving particles are called charge c ...

Electric discharge In electromagnetism, an electric discharge is the release and transmission of electricity in an applied electric field through a medium such as a gas (i.e., an outgoing flow of electric current through a non-metal medium).American Geophysical U ...

Electric spark An electric spark is an abrupt electrical discharge that occurs when a sufficiently high electric field creates an Ionization, ionized, Electric current, electrically conductive channel through a normally-insulating medium, often air or other ga ...

* Electric Tokamak *

Electrothermal-chemical technology Electrothermal-chemical (ETC) technology is an attempt to increase accuracy and muzzle energy of future tank, artillery, and close-in weapon system guns by improving the predictability and rate of expansion of propellants inside the barrel. An el ...

, uses plasma cartridge, Triple coaxial plasma igniter * Electrodeless plasma excitation *

Electrodeless plasma thruster The electrodeless plasma thruster is a spacecraft propulsion engine commercialized under the acronym "E-IMPAcT" for "Electrodeless-Ionization Magnetized Ponderomotive Acceleration Thruster". It was created by Gregory Emsellem, based on technology d ...

Electrodynamic tether Electrodynamic tethers (EDTs) are long conducting wires, such as one deployed from a tether satellite, which can operate on electromagnetism, electromagnetic principles as electrical generator, generators, by converting their kinetic energy to ele ...

, Flowing Plasma Effect *

Electrohydrodynamic thruster An ion-propelled aircraft or ionocraft is an aircraft that uses electrohydrodynamics (EHD) to provide lift (force), lift or thrust in the air without requiring combustion or moving parts. Current designs do not produce sufficient thrust for crew ...

Electrolaser An electrolaser is a type of electroshock weapon that is also a directed-energy weapon. It uses lasers to form an electrically conductive ''laser-induced plasma channel'' (LIPC). A fraction of a second later, a powerful electric current is sent ...

, Laser-Induced Plasma Channel *

Electromagnetic electron wave In plasma physics, an electromagnetic electron wave is a wave in a plasma which has a magnetic field component and in which primarily the electrons oscillate. In an unmagnetized plasma, an electromagnetic electron wave is simply a light wave mod ...

Electromagnetic field An electromagnetic field (also EM field) is a physical field, varying in space and time, that represents the electric and magnetic influences generated by and acting upon electric charges. The field at any point in space and time can be regarde ...

Electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also referred to as a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. The origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic field, as an ...

Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...

* Electron-cloud effect *

Electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

Electron avalanche An electron avalanche is a process in which a number of free electrons in a transmission medium are subjected to strong acceleration by an electric field and subsequently collide with other atoms of the medium, thereby ionizing them ( impact ioniz ...

* Electron beam ion trap *

Electron cyclotron resonance Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) is a phenomenon observed in plasma physics, condensed matter physics, and accelerator physics. It happens when the frequency of incident radiation coincides with the natural frequency of rotation of electrons in ...

Electron density Electron density or electronic density is the measure of the probability of an electron being present at an infinitesimal element of space surrounding any given point. It is a scalar quantity depending upon three spatial variables and is typical ...

Electron energy loss spectroscopy Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is a form of electron microscopy in which a material is exposed to a beam of electrons with a known, narrow range of kinetic energies. Some of the electrons will undergo inelastic scattering, which mea ...

Electron gun file:Egun.jpg, Electron gun from a cathode-ray tube file:Vidicon Electron Gun.jpg, The electron gun from an RCA Vidicon video camera tube An electron gun (also called electron emitter) is an electrical component in some vacuum tubes that produc ...

Electron microprobe An electron microprobe (EMP), also known as an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) or electron micro probe analyzer (EMPA), is an analytical tool used to non-destructively determine the chemical composition of small volumes of solid materials. I ...

* Electron spiral toroid * Electron temperature *

Electronvolt In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV), also written electron-volt and electron volt, is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating through an Voltage, electric potential difference of one volt in vacuum ...

* Electron wake *

Electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two differently-charged objects when brought close together or when the dielectric between them breaks down, often creating a visible electric spark, spark as ...

* Electrostatic ion cyclotron wave * Electrostatic ion thruster *

Electrosurgery Electrosurgery is the application of a high-frequency (radio frequency) alternating polarity, electrical current to biological tissue as a means to cut, coagulate, desiccate, or fulgurate tissue.Hainer BL, "Fundamentals of electrosurgery", '' ...

* Electrothermal instability *

Electroweak epoch In physical cosmology, the electroweak epoch was the period in the evolution of the early universe when the temperature of the universe had fallen enough that the strong force separated from the electronuclear interaction, but was still high en ...

Elemental analysis Elemental analysis is a process where a sample of some material (e.g., soil, waste or drinking water, bodily fluids, minerals, chemical compounds) is analyzed for its elemental and sometimes isotopic composition. Elemental analysis can be qualita ...

* Elliptic flow *

Emission spectrum The emission spectrum of a chemical element or chemical compound is the Spectrum (physical sciences), spectrum of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation emitted due to electrons making a atomic electron transition, transition from a high energ ...

Energetic neutral atom Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging is a technology used to create global images of otherwise invisible phenomena in the magnetospheres of planets and throughout the heliosphere. Charged particles— protons, electrons, and various nuclei— ...

Energy density In physics, energy density is the quotient between the amount of energy stored in a given system or contained in a given region of space and the volume of the system or region considered. Often only the ''useful'' or extractable energy is measure ...

Energy filtered transmission electron microscopy Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) is a technique used in transmission electron microscopy, in which only electrons of particular kinetic energies are used to form the image or diffraction pattern. The technique can be used to ...

Evanescent wave In electromagnetics, an evanescent field, or evanescent wave, is an oscillating electric and/or magnetic field that does not propagate as an electromagnetic wave but whose energy is spatially concentrated in the vicinity of the source (oscilla ...

* Evershed effect *

Excimer lamp An excimer lamp (or excilamp) is a source of ultraviolet light based on spontaneous emission of excimer (exciplex) molecules. Introduction Excimer lamps are quasimonochromatic light sources operating over a wide range of wavelengths in the ult ...

Excimer laser An excimer laser, sometimes more correctly called an exciplex laser, is a form of ultraviolet laser which is commonly used in the production of microelectronic devices, semiconductor based integrated circuits or "chips", eye surgery, and micro ...

* Extraordinary optical transmission *

Extreme ultraviolet Extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV or XUV) or high-energy ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum spanning wavelengths shorter than the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line from 121 nm down to ...

Extreme ultraviolet lithography Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL, also known simply as EUV) is a technology used in the semiconductor industry for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs). It is a type of photolithography that uses 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light fro ...

F

Failure analysis Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure, often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability. According to Bloch and Geitner, ”machinery failures reveal a reaction chain ...

FalconSAT FalconSAT is the United States Air Force Academy's (USAFA) small satellite engineering program. Satellites are designed, built, tested, and operated by Academy cadets. The project is administered by the USAFA Space Systems Research Center under ...

Faraday cup A Faraday cup is a metal (conductive) cup designed to catch charged particles. The resulting current can be measured and used to determine the number of ions or electrons hitting the cup. The Faraday cup was named after Michael Faraday who first ...

Faraday effect The Faraday effect or Faraday rotation, sometimes referred to as the magneto-optic Faraday effect (MOFE), is a physical magneto-optical phenomenon. The Faraday effect causes a polarization rotation which is proportional to the projection of the ...

, Faraday rotation in the ionosphere * Far-infrared laser * Farley-Buneman instability *

Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer The Fast Auroral SnapshoT Explorer (FAST or Explorer 70) was a NASA plasma physics satellite, and was the second spacecraft in the Small Explorer program (SMEX). It was launched on 21 August 1996, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Vandenberg Ai ...

Ferritic nitrocarburizing Ferritic nitrocarburizing or FNC, also known by the proprietary names "Tenifer", "Tufftride", Melonite, and "Arcor",Other trade names include Tuffride/ Tuffrider, QPQ, Sulfinuz, Sursulf, Meli 1, and Nitride, among others is a range of proprietar ...

, Plasma-assisted ferritic nitrocarburizing, plasma ion nitriding *

Ferrofluid Ferrofluid is a dark liquid that is attracted to the poles of a magnet. It is a colloidal liquid made of nanoscale ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic particles suspended inside a carrier fluid (usually an organic solvent or water). Each magnetic ...

Field line A field line is a graphical Scientific visualization, visual aid for visualizing vector fields. It consists of an imaginary integral curve which is tangent to the field Euclidean vector, vector at each point along its length. A diagram showing ...

* Field-reversed configuration *

Filament propagation In nonlinear optics, filament propagation is propagation of a beam of light through a medium without diffraction. This is possible because the Kerr effect causes an index of refraction change in the medium, resulting in self-focusing of the beam. ...

Finite-difference time-domain method Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) or Yee's method (named after the Chinese American applied mathematician Kane S. Yee, born 1934) is a numerical analysis technique used for modeling computational electrodynamics. History Finite difference sc ...

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

* Fisher's equation * Fission fragment reactor * Fission-fragment rocket, Dusty Plasma Based Fission Fragment Nuclear Reactor * Flame plasma * Flare spray *

Flashtube A flashtube (flashlamp) produces an electrostatic discharge with an extremely intense, incoherent, full-spectrum white light for a very short time. A flashtube is a glass tube with an electrode at each end and is filled with a gas that, when tr ...

Flatness problem The flatness problem (also known as the oldness problem) is a cosmological fine-tuning problem within the Big Bang model of the universe. Such problems arise from the observation that some of the initial conditions of the universe appear to be f ...

* Flowing-afterglow mass spectrometry *

Fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...

Fluorescent lamp A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...

Forbidden mechanism In spectroscopy, a forbidden mechanism (forbidden transition or forbidden line) is a spectral line associated with absorption or emission of photons by atomic nuclei, atoms, or molecules which undergo a transition that is not allowed by a particu ...

Force-free magnetic field In plasma physics, a force-free magnetic field is a magnetic field in which the Lorentz force is equal to zero and the magnetic pressure greatly exceeds the plasma pressure such that non-magnetic forces can be neglected. For a force-free field, t ...

Free-electron laser A free-electron laser (FEL) is a fourth generation light source producing extremely brilliant and short pulses of radiation. An FEL functions much as a laser but employs relativistic electrons as a active laser medium, gain medium instead of using ...

Free electron model In solid-state physics, the free electron model is a quantum mechanical model for the behaviour of charge carriers in a metallic solid. It was developed in 1927, principally by Arnold Sommerfeld, who combined the classical Drude model with quan ...

F region The F region of the ionosphere is home to the F layer of ionization, also called the Appleton–Barnett layer, after the English physicist Edward Appleton and New Zealand physicist and meteorologist Miles Barnett. As with other ionospheric secto ...

, Appleton layer * Frequency classification of plasmas *

Fusion energy gain factor A fusion energy gain factor, usually expressed with the symbol ''Q'', is the ratio of fusion power produced in a nuclear fusion reactor to the power required to maintain the plasma in steady state. The condition of ''Q'' = 1, when the ...

Fusion power Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices d ...

* fusion torch *

fusor A fusor is a device that uses an electric field to heat ions to a temperature at which they undergo nuclear fusion. The machine induces a potential difference between two metal cages, inside a vacuum. Positive ions fall down this voltage drop, b ...

G

* Galactic corona *

Galactic halo A galactic halo is an extended, roughly spherical component of a galaxy which extends beyond the main, visible component. Several distinct components of a galaxy comprise its halo: * the stellar halo * the galactic corona (hot gas, i.e. a plas ...

Gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

Gas-filled tube A gas-filled tube, also commonly known as a discharge tube or formerly as a Julius Plücker, Plücker tube, is an arrangement of electrodes in a gas within an dielectric, insulating, temperature-resistant envelope. Gas-filled tubes exploit phen ...

* Gas core reactor rocket * Gas cracker, plasma cracking * Gas Electron Multiplier * Gaseous fission reactor * Gaseous ionisation detectors * Gas focusing *

Gasification Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (). This is achieved by reacting ...

, Plasma gasifier *

Geissler tube A Geissler tube is a precursor to modern gas discharge tubes, demonstrating the principles of electrical glow discharge, akin to contemporary neon lights, and central to the discovery of the electron. This device was developed in 1857 by Hein ...

* General Fusion *

Geomagnetic storm A geomagnetic storm, also known as a magnetic storm, is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere that is driven by interactions between the magnetosphere and large-scale transient Plasma (physics), plasma and magnetic field structur ...

* Geothermal Anywhere * Glasser effect * Glass frit bonding *

Glow discharge A glow discharge is a Plasma (physics), plasma formed by the passage of electric current through a gas. It is often created by applying a voltage between two electrodes in a glass tube containing a low-pressure gas. When the voltage exceeds a va ...

* Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) * Grad–Shafranov equation *

Granule (solar physics) In solar physics and observation, granules are convection cells in the Sun's photosphere. They are caused by currents of plasma in the Sun's convective zone, directly below the photosphere. The grainy appearance of the photosphere is produced ...

Great Rift (astronomy) In astronomy, the Great Rift (sometimes called the Dark Rift or less commonly the Dark River) is a dark band caused by interstellar clouds of cosmic dust that significantly obscure ( extinguish) the center and most radial sectors of the Milky ...

* GreenSun Energy *

Guiding center In physics, the motion of an electrically charged particle such as an electron or ion in a plasma in a magnetic field can be treated as the superposition of a relatively fast circular motion around a point called the guiding center and a relat ...

* Gunn–Peterson trough *

GYRO Gyro may refer to: Science and technology * GYRO, a computer program for tokamak plasma simulation * Gyro Motor Company, an American aircraft engine manufacturer * '' Gyrodactylus salaris'', a parasite in salmon * Gyroscope, an orientation-sta ...

* Gyrokinetic ElectroMagnetic * Gyrokinetics *

Gyroradius In physics, cyclotron motion, also known as gyromotion, refers to the circular motion exhibited by charged particles in a uniform magnetic field. The circular trajectory of a particle in cyclotron motion is characterized by an angular frequency r ...

Gyrotron High-power 140 GHz gyrotron for plasma heating in the Wendelstein 7-X fusion experiment, Germany. A gyrotron is a class of high-power linear-beam vacuum tubes that generates millimeter-wave electromagnetic waves by the cyclotron resonance of e ...

H

Hadronization Hadronization (or hadronisation) is the process of the formation of hadrons out of quarks and gluons. There are two main branches of hadronization: quark-gluon plasma (QGP) transformation and colour string decay into hadrons. The transformation o ...

Hagedorn temperature The Hagedorn temperature, ''T''H, is the temperature in theoretical physics where hadronic matter (i.e. ordinary matter) is no longer stable, and must either "evaporate" or convert into quark matter; as such, it can be thought of as the "boiling p ...

, Transition to Quark-Gluon Plasma *

Hall effect The Hall effect is the production of a voltage, potential difference (the Hall voltage) across an electrical conductor that is wikt:transverse, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic field wikt:perpendicul ...

Hall-effect thruster In spacecraft propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET) is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall-effect thrusters (based on the discovery by Edwin Hall) are sometimes referred to as Hall thruste ...

* Hasegawa–Mima equation *

Heat shield In engineering, a heat shield is a component designed to protect an object or a human operator from being burnt or overheated by dissipating, reflecting, and/or absorbing heat. The term is most often used in reference to exhaust heat management a ...

* Heat torch * Helically Symmetric Experiment * Helicon double-layer thruster *

Helicon (physics) In electromagnetism, a helicon is a low-frequency electromagnetic wave that can exist in bounded plasmas in the presence of a magnetic field. The first helicons observed were atmospheric whistlers, but they also exist in solid conductorsBowers, ...

Heliosphere The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding ...

Heliospheric current sheet The heliospheric current sheet, or interplanetary current sheet, is a surface separating regions of the heliosphere where the interplanetary magnetic field points toward and away from the Sun. A small electrical current with a current density of ...

Helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

* Helium line ratio * Helmet streamer * Hessdalen light * High beta fusion reactor *

High-energy nuclear physics High-energy nuclear physics studies the behavior of nuclear matter in energy regimes typical of high-energy physics. The primary focus of this field is the study of heavy-ion collisions, as compared to lighter atoms in other particle accelerator ...

High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is a University of Alaska Fairbanks program which researches the ionosphere – the highest, ionized part of Earth's atmosphere. The most prominent instrument at HAARP is the Ionospher ...

* High harmonic generation *

High-intensity discharge lamp High-intensity discharge lamps (HID lamps) are a type of electrical gas-discharge lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc ...

* High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering *

High voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...

* HiPER, High-Power laser Energy Research facility *

Hiss (electromagnetic) Electromagnetic hiss is a naturally occurring Extremely Low Frequency/Very Low Frequency electromagnetic wave (i.e., 300 Hz – 10 kHz) that is generated in the plasma of either the Earth's ionosphere or magnetosphere. Its name is der ...

, Plasmaspheric hiss * Hollow cathode effect * Hollow-cathode lamp * Holtsmark distribution *

Homopolar generator A homopolar generator is a DC electrical generator comprising an electrically conductive disc or cylinder rotating in a plane perpendicular to a uniform static magnetic field. A potential difference is created between the center of the disc and ...

* Horizon problem *

Hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

* Hydrogen sensor *

Hypernova A hypernova is a very energetic supernova which is believed to result from an extreme core collapse scenario. In this case, a massive star (>30 solar masses) collapses to form a rotating black hole emitting twin astrophysical jets and surrounded b ...

Hypersonic speed In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds five times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since i ...

Hypersonic wind tunnel A hypersonic wind tunnel is designed to generate a hypersonic flow field in the working section, thus simulating the typical flow features of this flow regime - including compression shocks and pronounced boundary layer effects, entropy layer and ...

Hypervelocity Hypervelocity is very high velocity, approximately over 3,000 meters per second (11,000 km/h, 6,700 mph, 10,000 ft/s, or Mach 8.8). In particular, hypervelocity is velocity so high that the strength of materials upon impact is v ...

* Hypertherm

I

* IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society * IGNITOR *

IMAGE An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

, Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, Radio Plasma Imager *

Impalefection Impalefection is a method of gene delivery using nanomaterials, such as carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, nanowires. Needle-like nanostructures are synthesized perpendicular to the surface of a substrate. Plasmid DNA containing the gene, and in ...

Impulse generator Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

Incoherent scatter Incoherent scattering is a type of scattering phenomenon in physics. The term is most commonly used when referring to the scattering of an electromagnetic wave (usually light or radio frequency) by random fluctuations in a gas of particles (most ...

* Induction plasma technology * Inductively coupled plasma *

Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), also referred to as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), is an analytical technique used for the detection of chemical elements. It is a type of emis ...

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry that uses an inductively coupled plasma to ionize the sample. It atomizes the sample and creates atomic and small polyatomic ions, which are then detected. It i ...

Inelastic mean free path The inelastic mean free path (IMFP) is an index of how far an electron on average travels through a solid before losing energy. If a monochromatic, primary beam of electrons is incident on a solid surface, the majority of incident electrons lo ...

inertial confinement fusion Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a fusion energy process that initiates nuclear fusion reactions by compressing and heating targets filled with fuel. The targets are small pellets, typically containing deuterium (2H) and tritium (3H). Typical ...

Inertial electrostatic confinement Inertial electrostatic confinement, or IEC, is a class of fusion power devices that use electric fields to confine the plasma rather than the more common approach using magnetic fields found in magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) designs. Most IEC ...

* Inertial fusion power plant *

Instability In dynamical systems instability means that some of the outputs or internal states increase with time, without bounds. Not all systems that are not stable are unstable; systems can also be marginally stable or exhibit limit cycle behavior. ...

Insulated-gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that ...

Insulator (electrical) An electrical insulator is a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The atoms of the insulator have tightly bound electrons which cannot readily move. Other materials—semiconductors and electrical conductor, conductors—con ...

* Interbol *

Intergalactic medium Intergalactic may refer to: * "Intergalactic" (song), a song by the Beastie Boys * ''Intergalactic'' (TV series), a 2021 UK science fiction TV series * Intergalactic space * Intergalactic travel, travel between galaxies in science fiction and ...

International Reference Ionosphere International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) is a common permanent scientific project of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) started 1968/69. It is the international Standard (metrology), stand ...

Interplanetary magnetic field The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), also commonly referred to as the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), is the component of the solar magnetic field that is dragged out from the solar corona by the solar wind flow to fill the Solar System ...

Interplanetary medium The interplanetary medium (IPM) or interplanetary space consists of the mass and energy which fills the Solar System, and through which all the larger Solar System bodies, such as planets, dwarf planet A dwarf planet is a small planetary ...

Interplanetary scintillation In astronomy, interplanetary scintillation refers to random fluctuations in the intensity of radio waves of celestial origin, on the timescale of a few seconds. It is analogous to the twinkling one sees looking at stars in the sky at night, but i ...

Interstellar medium The interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the outer space, space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as cosmic dust, dust and cosmic rays. It f ...

* Interstellar

nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

Interstellar travel Interstellar travel is the hypothetical travel of spacecraft between star systems. Due to the vast distances between the Solar System and nearby stars, interstellar travel is not practicable with current propulsion technologies. To travel between ...

Intracluster medium In astronomy, the intracluster medium (ICM) is the superheated plasma (physics), plasma that permeates a galaxy cluster. The gas consists mainly of ionized hydrogen and helium and accounts for most of the baryonic material in galaxy clusters. The ...

* Io-

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

flux tube A flux tube is a generally tube-like (cylindrical) region of space containing a magnetic field, B, such that the cylindrical sides of the tube are everywhere parallel to the magnetic field lines. It is a graphical visual aid for visualizing a magn ...

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

* Ionized-air glow * Ion acoustic wave *

Ion beam An ion beam is a beam of ions, a type of charged particle beam. Ion beams have many uses in electronics manufacturing (principally ion implantation) and other industries. There are many ion beam sources, some derived from the mercury vapor ...

* Ion-beam shepherd *

Ion cyclotron resonance Ion cyclotron resonance is a phenomenon related to the movement of ions in a magnetic field. It is used for accelerating ions in a cyclotron, and for measuring the masses of an ionized analyte in mass spectrometry, particularly with Fourier transfor ...

Ion gun An Ion Gun typically is an instrument that generates a beam of heavy ions with a well defined energy distribution. The ion beam is produced from a plasma that has been confined within a volume. Ions of a particular energy are extracted, accelerate ...

Ion laser An ion laser is a gas laser that uses an ionized gas as its lasing medium. Like other gas lasers, ion lasers feature a sealed cavity containing the laser medium and mirrors forming a Fabry–Pérot resonator. Unlike helium–neon lasers, th ...

* Ion optics *

Ion plating Ion plating (IP) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process that is sometimes called ''ion assisted deposition'' (IAD) or ''ion vapor deposition'' (IVD) and is a modified version of ''vacuum deposition''. Ion plating uses concurrent or periodi ...

Ion source An ion source is a device that creates atomic and molecular ions. Ion sources are used to form ions for mass spectrometers, optical emission spectrometers, particle accelerators, ion implanters and ion engines. Electron ionization Elect ...

* Ion wind *

Ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

* Ionospheric heater *

Ionospheric propagation In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvature of ...

Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is a specialization of mass spectrometry, in which mass spectrometric methods are used to measure the relative abundance of isotopes in a given sample. This technique has two different applications in the e ...

, Multiple collector – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) *

ITER ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process s ...

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process s ...

J

Jellium Jellium, also known as the uniform electron gas (UEG) or homogeneous electron gas (HEG), is a quantum mechanical model of interacting free electrons in a solid where the complementary positive charges are not atomic nuclei but instead an idealize ...

uniform electron gas Jellium, also known as the uniform electron gas (UEG) or homogeneous electron gas (HEG), is a quantum mechanical model of interacting free electrons in a solid where the complementary positive charges are not atomic nuclei but instead an ideali ...

, homogeneous electron gas *

Jet (particle physics) A jet is a narrow cone of hadrons and other particles produced by the hadronization of quarks and gluons in a particle physics or heavy ion experiment. Particles carrying a color charge, i.e. quarks and gluons, cannot exist in free form becaus ...

* Jet quenching *

Joint European Torus The Joint European Torus (JET) was a magnetically confined plasma physics experiment, located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, UK. Based on a tokamak design, the fusion research facility was a joint European project with the ...

K

Kennelly–Heaviside layer The Heaviside layer, sometimes called the Kennelly–Heaviside layer, named after Arthur E. Kennelly and Oliver Heaviside, is a layer of ionised gas occurring roughly between above the ground — one of several layers in the Earth's ion ...

E region E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plu ...

Kinetics (physics) In physics and engineering, kinetics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the relationship between the motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time ...

Kink instability A kink instability (also known as a kink oscillation or kink mode) is a current-driven plasma instability characterized by transverse displacements of a plasma column's cross-section from its center of mass without any change in the characteris ...

Kirchhoff's circuit laws Kirchhoff's circuit laws are two equalities that deal with the current and potential difference (commonly known as voltage) in the lumped element model of electrical circuits. They were first described in 1845 by German physicist Gustav Kirc ...

Kite applications Different types of flying kites (such as water kites, bi-media kites, fluid kites, gas kites, kytoons, Paravane (water kite), paravanes, soil kites, solid kites, and plasma kites) have niche applications. In nature, some animals, such as spiders, ...

, plasma kite * Kosterlitz–Thouless transition *

KSTAR The KSTAR (or Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research; , literally "superconductive nuclear fusion research device") is a magnetic fusion device at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy in Daejeon, South Korea. It is intended to study ...

, Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research * Kværner-process, Plasma burner, Plasma variation

L

* Lagrange point colonization *

Landau damping In physics, Landau damping, named after its discoverer,Landau, L. "On the vibration of the electronic plasma". ''JETP'' 16 (1946), 574. English translation in ''J. Phys. (USSR)'' 10 (1946), 25. Reproduced in Collected papers of L.D. Landau, edited ...

Langmuir probe A Langmuir probe is a device used to determine the electron temperature, electron density, and electric potential of a plasma. It works by inserting one or more electrodes into a plasma, with a constant or time-varying electric potential between ...

Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...

* Large Helical Device * Large Plasma Device * Laser-hybrid welding *

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a type of atomic emission spectroscopy which uses a highly energetic laser pulse as the excitation source. The laser is focused to form a plasma, which atomizes and excites samples. The formation of ...

, Laser Induced Plasma Spectroscopy *

Laser-induced fluorescence Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) or laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is a spectroscopic method in which an atom or molecule is excited to a higher energy level by the absorption of laser light followed by spontaneous emission of light. It was f ...

Laser ablation Laser ablation or photoablation (also called laser blasting) is the process of removing material from a solid (or occasionally liquid) surface by irradiating it with a laser beam. At low laser flux, the material is heated by the absorbed laser ...

* Laser ablation synthesis in solution * Laser plasma acceleration *

Lawson criterion The Lawson criterion is a figure of merit used in nuclear fusion research. It compares the rate of energy being generated by fusion reactions within the fusion fuel to the rate of energy losses to the environment. When the rate of production is ...

* Lerche–Newberger sum rule * Le Sage's theory of gravitation * Levitated dipole *

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...

* Lightcraft *

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

* LINUS (Fusion Experiment) *

List of hydrodynamic instabilities This is a list of hydrodynamic and plasma instabilities named after people (eponymous instabilities). See also * Eponym * List of fluid flows named after people * Instability * Hydrodynamic stability * Scientific phenomena named after people Re ...

* List of plasma physicists *

LOFAR LOFAR may refer to: * Low-Frequency Array, a large radio telescope system based in the Netherlands * Low Frequency Analyzer and Recorder and Low Frequency Analysis and Recording, for low-frequency sounds {{disambiguation ...

, Low Frequency Array *

Longitudinal wave Longitudinal waves are waves which oscillate in the direction which is parallel to the direction in which the wave travels and displacement of the medium is in the same (or opposite) direction of the wave propagation. Mechanical longitudinal ...

Lorentz force In electromagnetism, the Lorentz force is the force exerted on a charged particle by electric and magnetic fields. It determines how charged particles move in electromagnetic environments and underlies many physical phenomena, from the operation ...

Low-energy electron diffraction Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) is a technique for the determination of the surface structure of single crystal, single-crystalline materials by bombardment with a collimated beam of low-energy electrons (30–200 eV) and observation o ...

Lower hybrid oscillation Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) In firearms terminology and law, the firearm frame or receiver is the part of a firearm which integr ...

Low-pressure discharge Low-pressure discharges exist within Gas-discharge lamps. The electric discharges in gases are made under gas pressures from a few millitorr to a little less than atmospheric. Description They are most often used in industry to generate plasma ...

* Luminescent solar concentrator *

Lundquist number In plasma physics, the Lundquist number (denoted by S) is a dimensionless ratio which compares the timescale of an Alfvén wave crossing to the timescale of resistive diffusion. It is a special case of the magnetic Reynolds number when the Alfv� ...

Luttinger liquid A Luttinger liquid, or Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid, is a theoretical model describing interacting electrons (or other fermions) in a one-dimensional conductor (e.g. quantum wires such as carbon nanotubes). Such a model is necessary as the commonl ...

M

Madison Symmetric Torus The Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) is a reversed field pinch (RFP) physics experiment with applications to both fusion energy research and astrophysical plasmas. MST is located at the Center for Magnetic Self Organization (CMSO) at the Univers ...

* MagBeam, also called Magnetized beamed plasma propulsion, plasma wind *

Magnetic bottle A magnetic mirror, also known as a magnetic trap or sometimes as a pyrotron, is a type of magnetic confinement fusion device used in fusion power to trap high temperature plasma using magnetic fields. The mirror was one of the earliest major app ...

* Magnetic braking *

Magnetic cloud A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant ejection of plasma mass from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accepted theoretical understanding ...

Magnetic confinement fusion Magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma (physics), plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of controlled fusi ...

Magnetic diffusivity The magnetic diffusivity controls the rate of magnetic field diffusion. Since its role in the evolution equation for the magnetic field is analogous to that of the viscosity for the velocity field, some authors refer to it as the 'magnetic viscos ...

Magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

Magnetic field oscillating amplified thruster The magnetic field oscillating amplified thruster (MOA; often named as plasma engine by the media) is a versatile electrothermodynamic system, which is able to accelerate nearly every electrically charged gaseous medium ( plasma application) to extr ...

, Plasma Engine *

Magnetic helicity In plasma physics, magnetic helicity is a measure of the linkage, twist, and writhe of a magnetic field. Magnetic helicity is a useful concept in the analysis of systems with extremely low resistivity, such as astrophysical systems. When resistiv ...

Magnetic mirror A magnetic mirror, also known as a magnetic trap or sometimes as a pyrotron, is a type of magnetic confinement fusion device used in fusion power to trap high temperature Plasma (physics), plasma using magnetic fields. The mirror was one of the e ...

Magnetic Prandtl number The Magnetic Prandtl number (Prm) is a dimensionless quantity occurring in magnetohydrodynamics which approximates the ratio of momentum diffusivity (viscosity) and magnetic diffusivity. It is defined as: :\mathrm_\mathrm = \frac = \frac = \frac ...

Magnetic pressure In physics, magnetic pressure is an energy density associated with a magnetic field. In SI units, the energy density P_B of a magnetic field with strength B can be expressed as :P_B = \frac where \mu_0 is the vacuum permeability. Any magnetic fi ...

* Magnetic proton recoil neutron spectrometer * Magnetic radiation reaction force *

Magnetic reconnection Magnetic reconnection is a physical process occurring in electrically conducting Plasma (physics), plasmas, in which the magnetic topology is rearranged and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy, thermal energy, and particle accelerati ...

* Magnetic Reynolds number * Magnetic sail, Mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion * Magnetic tail *

Magnetic tension force In physics, magnetic tension is a restoring force with units of force density that acts to straighten bent magnetic field lines. In SI units, the force density \mathbf_T exerted perpendicular to a magnetic field \mathbf can be expressed as :\ma ...

Magnetic weapon A magnetic weapon is one that uses magnetic fields to accelerate or stop projectiles, or to focus charged particle beams. There are many hypothesized magnetic weapons, such as the railgun and coilgun which accelerate a magnetic (in the case of rai ...

* Magnetization reversal by circularly polarized light * Magnetized target fusion * Magnetogravity wave * Magnetohydrodynamic drive * MHD generator *

Magnetohydrodynamics In physics and engineering, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is a model of electrically conducting fluids that treats all interpenetrating particle species together as a single Continuum ...

* Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence *

Magneto-optical trap In atomic, molecular, and optical physics, a magneto-optical trap (MOT) is an apparatus which uses laser cooling and a spatially varying magnetic field to create a Magnetic trap (atoms), trap which can produce samples of Ultracold atom, cold neu ...

Magnetopause The magnetopause is the abrupt boundary between a magnetosphere and the surrounding Plasma (physics), plasma. For planetary science, the magnetopause is the boundary between the planet's magnetic field and the solar wind. The location of the ma ...

* Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster *

Magnetosheath The magnetosheath is the region of space between the magnetopause and the bow shock of a planet's magnetosphere. The regularly organized magnetic field generated by the planet becomes weak and irregular in the magnetosheath due to interaction wit ...

Magnetosonic wave In physics, magnetosonic waves, also known as magnetoacoustic waves, are low-frequency Compression (physics), compressive waves driven by mutual interaction between an electrically conducting fluid and a magnetic field. They are associated with Co ...

, also magnetoacoustic wave *

Magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

Magnetosphere chronology The following is a chronology of discoveries concerning the magnetosphere. *1600 - William Gilbert (astronomer), William Gilbert in London suggests the Earth is a giant magnet. *1741 - Hiorter and Anders Celsius note that the polar aurora is accom ...

Magnetosphere of Saturn The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the ''Pioneer 11'' spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet i ...

, Sources and transport of plasma * Magnetosphere particle motion *

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission is a NASA robotic space mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere, using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. The spacecraft were launched on 13 March 2015 at 02:44 UTC. Th ...

Magnetotellurics Magnetotellurics (MT) is an Electromagnetism, electromagnetic geophysics, geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's sur ...

MAGPIE Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...

, stands for Mega Ampere Generator for Plasma Implosion Experiments,

Marx generator A Marx generator is an electrical circuit first described by Erwin Otto Marx in 1924. Its purpose is to generate a high-voltage pulse from a low-voltage DC supply. Marx generators are used in high-energy physics experiments, as well as to simul ...

MARAUDER Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to: * A person engaged in banditry or related activity ** Piracy ** Looting ** Outlaw ** Partisan (military) ** Robbery ** Theft Entertainment * ''Marauder'', the second novel in th ...

, acronym of Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultra-high Directed Energy and Radiation * Marchywka Effect *

Marfa lights The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, are regularly observed near Marfa, Texas, in the United States. They are most often seen from a viewing area nearby, which the community has publicized to encourage tourism. Scientists observ ...

Many-body problem The many-body problem is a general name for a vast category of physical problems pertaining to the properties of microscopic systems made of many interacting particles. Terminology ''Microscopic'' here implies that quantum mechanics has to be ...

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency, European Space Agency (ESA) exploring the planet Mars and its moons since 2003, and the first planetary mission attempted by ESA. ''Mars Express'' consisted of two ...

Mass driver A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to Acceleration, accelerate and catapult Payload (air and space craft), payloads up to high speeds. Existing and proposed mass ...

, or electromagnetic catapult *

Mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

* Material point method *

Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution In physics (in particular in statistical mechanics), the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, or Maxwell(ian) distribution, is a particular probability distribution named after James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann. It was first defined and use ...

Maxwell's equations Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, Electrical network, electr ...

* Mechanically Stimulated Gas Emission * Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak *

Metallic bond Metallic bonding is a type of chemical bonding that arises from the electrostatic attractive force between conduction electrons (in the form of an electron cloud of delocalized electrons) and positively charged metal ions. It may be descr ...

Metallizing Metallizing is the general name for the technique of coating metal on the surface of objects. Metallic coatings may be decorative, protective or functional. Techniques for metallization started as early as mirror making. In 1835, Justus von Lie ...

* Metamaterial antenna *

Microplasma A microplasma is a plasma (physics), plasma of small dimensions, ranging from tens to thousands of micrometers. Microplasmas can be generated at a variety of temperatures and pressures, existing as either thermal or non-thermal plasmas. Non-thermal ...

* Microstructured optical arrays *

Microturbulence Microturbulence is a form of turbulence that varies over small distance scales. (Large-scale turbulence is called macroturbulence.) Stellar Microturbulence is one of several mechanisms that can cause broadening of the absorption lines in the ste ...

* Microwave digestion * Microwave discharge * Microwave plasma-assisted CVD * Microwave plasma * Migma *

MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center The Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a university research center for the study of Plasma (physics), plasmas, Nuclear fusion, fusion science and technology. It was originally founded i ...

Moreton wave A Moreton wave, Solar Tsunami, or Moreton-Ramsey wave is the chromospheric signature of a large-scale solar corona shock wave. Described as a kind of solar "tsunami", they are generated by solar flares. They are named for American astronomer G ...

* Multipactor effect

N

Nanoflares A nanoflare is a very small episodic heating event which happens in the corona, the external atmosphere of the Sun. The hypothesis of small impulsive heating events as a possible explanation of the coronal heating was first suggested by Thoma ...

Nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...

* Nanoscale plasmonic motor *

Nanoshell A nanoshell, or rather a nanoshell plasmon, is a type of spherical nanoparticle consisting of a dielectric core which is covered by a thin metallic shell (usually gold). These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called a plasmon which is a collec ...

* National Compact Stellarator Experiment *

National Spherical Torus Experiment The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a magnetic fusion device based on the ''spherical tokamak'' concept. It was constructed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ...

Navier–Stokes equations The Navier–Stokes equations ( ) are partial differential equations which describe the motion of viscous fluid substances. They were named after French engineer and physicist Claude-Louis Navier and the Irish physicist and mathematician Georg ...

Negative index metamaterials Negative-index metamaterial or negative-index material (NIM) is a metamaterial whose refractive index for an electromagnetic wave has a negative value over some frequency range. NIMs are constructed of periodic basic parts called unit cells, w ...

Negative resistance In electronics, negative resistance (NR) is a property of some electrical circuits and devices in which an increase in voltage across the device's terminals results in a decrease in electric current through it. This is in contrast to an ordina ...

Negative temperature Certain system (thermodynamics), systems can achieve negative thermodynamic temperature; that is, their Thermodynamic temperature, temperature can be expressed as a negative number, negative quantity on the Kelvin or Rankine scale, Rankine scale ...

Neon lighting Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain Rarefaction, rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge lamp, gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed gla ...

Neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

Neutral beam injection Neutral-beam injection (NBI) is one method used to heat Plasma (physics), plasma inside a Tokamak, fusion device consisting in a beam of high-energy neutral particles that can enter the magnetic confinement field. When these neutral particles are i ...

Neutron generator Neutron generators are neutron source devices which contain compact linear particle accelerators and that produce neutrons by fusing isotopes of hydrogen together. The nuclear fusion, fusion reactions take place in these devices by acceleratin ...

Neutron source A neutron source is any device that emits neutrons, irrespective of the mechanism used to produce the neutrons. Neutron sources are used in physics, engineering, medicine, nuclear weapons, petroleum exploration, biology, chemistry, and nuclear p ...

* Neutron star spin-up *

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

, Plasma and high energy particle spectrometer suite (PAM) * Nitrogen–phosphorus detector *

Nonequilibrium Gas and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory The Nonequilibrium Gas and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory (NGPDL) at the Aerospace Engineering Department of the University of Colorado Boulder is headed by Professor Iain D. Boyd and performs research of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, nonequilibrium g ...

Non-line-of-sight propagation Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) radio propagation occurs outside of the typical line-of-sight (LOS) between the transmitter and receiver, such as in ground reflections. Near-line-of-sight (also NLOS) conditions refer to partial obstruction by a physi ...

* Non-thermal microwave effect * Nonthermal plasma,

Nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

, Bremsstrahlung losses in quasineutral, isotropic plasmas, deuterium plasma *

Nuclear pulse propulsion Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. It originated as Project ''Orion'' with support from DARPA, after a suggestion by Stanislaw ...

* Nuclear pumped laser *

Numerical diffusion Numerical diffusion is a difficulty with computer simulations of continua (such as fluids) wherein the simulated medium exhibits a higher diffusivity than the true medium. This phenomenon can be particularly egregious when the system should not b ...

Numerical resistivity Numerical may refer to: * Number * Numerical digit * Numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical ...

O

Ohmic contact An ohmic contact is a non- rectifying electrical junction: a junction between two conductors that has a linear current–voltage (I–V) curve as with Ohm's law Ohm's law states that the electric current through a Electrical conductor, con ...

Onset of deconfinement The onset of deconfinement refers to the beginning of the creation of deconfined states of strongly interacting matter produced in nucleus-nucleus collisions with increasing collision energy (a quark–gluon plasma). The onset of deconfinement ...

* Optode *

Optoelectric nuclear battery An optoelectric nuclear battery (also radiophotovoltaic device, radioluminescent nuclear battery or radioisotope photovoltaic generator) is a type of nuclear battery in which nuclear energy is converted into light, which is then used to generate ...

Orbitrap In mass spectrometry, Orbitrap is an ion trap mass analyzer consisting of an outer barrel-like electrode and a coaxial inner spindle-like electrode that traps ions in an orbital motion around the spindle. The image current from the trapped ions i ...

* Outer space

P

Particle-in-cell In plasma physics, the particle-in-cell (PIC) method refers to a technique used to solve a certain class of partial differential equations. In this method, individual particles (or fluid elements) in a Lagrangian frame are tracked in continuous ...

Particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...

Paschen's law Paschen's law is an equation that gives the breakdown voltage, that is, the voltage necessary to start a discharge or electric arc, between two electrodes in a gas as a function of pressure and gap length. It is named after Friedrich Paschen who ...

* Peek's law * Pegasus Toroidal Experiment *

Penning mixture A Penning mixture is a mixture of gases that is used in electric gas-discharge lamps. It is defined as a mixture of one inert gas with a minute amount of another gas, one that has lower ionization voltage than the main constituent. It is named aft ...

* Penrose criterion * Perhapsatron * Phased plasma gun *

Photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless particles that can ...

Photonic metamaterial A photonic metamaterial (PM), also known as an optical metamaterial, is a type of electromagnetic metamaterial, that interacts with light, covering terahertz ( THz), infrared (IR) or visible wavelengths. The materials employ a periodic, cellul ...

Photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in the form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. E ...

Physical cosmology Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fu ...

Physical vapor deposition Physical vapor deposition (PVD), sometimes called physical vapor transport (PVT), describes a variety of vacuum deposition methods which can be used to produce thin films and coatings on substrates including metals, ceramics, glass, and polym ...

* Piezoelectric direct discharge plasma *

Pinch (plasma physics) A pinch (or: Bennett pinch (after Willard Harrison Bennett), electromagnetic pinch, magnetic pinch, pinch effect, or plasma pinch.) is the compression of an electrically conducting Electrical filament, filament by magnetic forces, or a device tha ...

Planetary nebula A planetary nebula is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives. The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelated to planets. The ...

* Planetary nebula luminosity function * Plasma-desorption mass spectrometry *

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is a chemical vapor deposition process used to deposit thin films from a gas state (vapor) to a solid state on a substrate. Chemical reactions are involved in the process, which occur after crea ...

* Plasma-immersion ion implantation * Plasma-powered cannon *

Plasma (physics) Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including the ...

Plasma acceleration Plasma acceleration is a technique for accelerating charged particles, such as electrons or ions, using the electric field associated with an electron plasma wave or other high-gradient plasma structures. These structures are created using eithe ...

* Plasma Acoustic Shield System * Plasma activated bonding *

Plasma activation Plasma activation (or plasma functionalization) is a method of surface functionalization, surface modification employing plasma processing, which improves surface adhesion properties of many materials including metals, glass, ceramics, a broad rang ...

Plasma actuator Plasma actuators are a type of actuator currently being developed for active aerodynamic flow control (fluid), flow control. Plasma (physics), Plasma actuators impart force in a similar way to ionocraft. Plasma flow control has drawn considerable ...

Plasma antenna A plasma antenna is a type of radio antenna currently in development in which plasma is used instead of the metal elements of a traditional antenna.Plasma arc waste disposal Plasma gasification is a thermal process that converts organic matter into a syngas (synthesis gas) which is primarily made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. A plasma torch powered by an electric arc ionizes gas and transforms organic matter in ...

Incineration Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

Plasma arc welding Plasma arc welding (PAW) is an arc welding process similar to gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). The electric arc is formed between an electrode (which is usually but not always made of sintered tungsten) and the workpiece. The key difference from ...

* Plasma channel *

Plasma chemistry Gas phase ion chemistry is a field of science encompassed within both chemistry and physics. It is the science that studies ions and molecules in the gas phase, most often enabled by some form of mass spectrometry. By far the most important appli ...

Plasma cleaning Plasma cleaning is the removal of impurities and contaminants from surfaces through the use of an energetic plasma (physics), plasma or dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma created from gaseous species. Gases such as argon and oxygen, as wel ...

Plasma Contactor Plasma contactors are devices used on spacecraft in order to prevent accumulation of electrostatic charge through the expulsion of plasma (often Xenon). An electrical contactor is an electrically controlled switch which closes a power or high v ...

* Plasma containment * Plasma conversion * Plasma cosmology, ambiplasma *

Plasma cutting Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other ...

, Plasma gouging * Plasma deep drilling technology *

Plasma diagnostics Plasma diagnostics are a pool of methods, instruments, and experimental techniques used to measure properties of a plasma, such as plasma components' density, distribution function over energy (temperature), their spatial profiles and dynamics, whi ...

, Self Excited Electron Plasma Resonance Spectroscopy (SEERS) *

Plasma display A plasma display panel is a type of flat-panel display that uses small cells containing Plasma (physics), plasma: Ionization, ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma televisions were the first large (over diagonal) flat-panel displ ...

Plasma effect The plasma effect is a computer-based visual effect animated in real-time. It uses cycles of changing colours warped in various ways to give an illusion of liquid, organic movement. the plasma effect involves manipulating color values over time ...

Plasma electrolytic oxidation Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), also known as electrolytic plasma oxidation (EPO) or microarc oxidation (MAO), is an electrochemical surface treatment process for generating oxide coatings on metals. It is similar to anodizing, but it employ ...

Plasma etcher Plasma etching is a form of plasma processing used to fabricate integrated circuits. It involves a high-speed stream of glow discharge (Plasma (physics), plasma) of an appropriate gas mixture being shot (in pulses) at a sample. The plasma source, ...

Plasma etching Plasma etching is a form of plasma processing used to fabricate integrated circuits. It involves a high-speed stream of glow discharge (Plasma (physics), plasma) of an appropriate gas mixture being shot (in pulses) at a sample. The plasma source, ...

Plasma frequency Plasma oscillations, also known as Langmuir waves (after Irving Langmuir), are rapid oscillations of the electron density in conducting media such as plasmas or metals in the ultraviolet region. The oscillations can be described as an instability ...

Plasma functionalization Plasma activation (or plasma functionalization) is a method of surface modification employing plasma processing, which improves surface adhesion properties of many materials including metals, glass, ceramics, a broad range of polymers and textiles ...

* Plasma gasification commercialization *

Plasma globe A plasma ball, plasma globe, or plasma lamp is a clear glass container filled with noble gases, usually a mixture of neon, krypton, and xenon, that has a high-voltage electrode in the center of the container. When voltage is applied, a plasma (p ...

Plasma lamp Plasma lamps are a type of electrodeless gas-discharge lamp energized by radio frequency (RF) power. They are distinct from the novelty plasma lamps that were popular in the 1980s. The internal-electrodeless lamp was invented by Nikola Tesla ...

* Plasma medicine * Plasma modeling * Plasma nitriding *

Plasma oscillation Plasma oscillations, also known as Langmuir waves (after Irving Langmuir), are rapid oscillations of the electron density in conducting media such as plasmas or metals in the ultraviolet region. The oscillations can be described as an instability ...

Plasma parameter The plasma parameter is a dimensionless number, denoted by capital Lambda, . The plasma parameter is usually interpreted to be the argument of the Coulomb logarithm, which is the ratio of the maximum impact parameter to the classical distance of c ...

Plasma parameters Plasma parameters define various characteristics of a plasma, an electrically conductive collection of charged and neutral particles of various species (electrons and ions) that responds ''collectively'' to electromagnetic forces. Such particl ...

* Plasma pencil *

Plasma polymerization Plasma polymerization (or glow discharge polymerization) uses plasma sources to generate a gas discharge that provides energy to activate or fragmentation (chemistry), fragment gaseous or liquid monomer, often containing a vinyl group, in order to ...

Plasma processing Plasma processing is a plasma-based material processing technology that aims at modifying the chemical and physical properties of a surface. Plasma processing techniques include: *Plasma activation * Plasma ashing * Plasma cleaning * Plasma elec ...

Plasma propulsion engine A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral Plasma (physics), plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the ...

* Plasma Pyrolysis Waste Treatment and Disposal * Plasma receiver * Plasma scaling * Plasma shaping *

Plasma sheet In the magnetosphere, the plasma sheet is a sheet-like region of denser (0.3-0.5 ions/cm3 versus 0.01-0.02 in the lobes) hot plasma and lower magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the m ...

* Plasma shield, Plasma window * Plasma sound source * Plasma source *

Plasma speaker Plasma speakers or ionophones are a form of loudspeaker which varies air pressure via an electrical plasma instead of a solid diaphragm. The plasma arc heats the surrounding air causing it to expand. Varying the electrical signal that drives t ...

Plasma spray Thermal spraying techniques are coating processes in which melted (or heated) materials are sprayed onto a surface. The "feedstock" (coating precursor) is heated by electrical (plasma or arc) or chemical means (combustion flame). Thermal sprayi ...

* Plasma spraying,

Thermal spraying Thermal spraying techniques are coating processes in which melted (or heated) materials are sprayed onto a surface. The "feedstock" (coating precursor) is heated by electrical (plasma or arc) or chemical means (combustion flame). Thermal sprayi ...

Surface finishing Surface finishing is a broad range of industrial processes that alter the surface of a manufactured item to achieve a certain property. Finishing processes may be employed to: improve product appearance, adhesion or wettability, solderability, ...

Plasma stability In plasma physics, plasma stability concerns the stability properties of a plasma in equilibrium and its behavior under small perturbations. The stability of the system determines if the perturbations will grow, oscillate, or be damped out. It ...

* Plasma stealth *

Plasma torch A plasma torch (also known as a plasma arc, plasma gun, plasma cutter, or plasmatron) is a device for generating a directed flow of plasma. The plasma jet can be used for applications including plasma cutting, plasma arc welding, plasma spray ...

* Plasma transferred wire arc thermal spraying * Plasma valve *

Plasma weapon A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include w ...

* Plasma weapon (fiction) * Plasma window, Force field *

Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) is a University of Michigan laboratory facility for electric propulsion and plasma application research. The primary goals of PEPL are to increase efficiency of electric propulsion systems, ...

Plasmaphone In organology, the study of musical instruments, many methods of classifying instruments exist. Most methods are specific to a particular cultural group and were developed to serve the musical needs of that culture. Culture-based classification m ...

* Plasmapper *

Plasmaron In physics, the plasmaron was proposed by Lundqvist in 1967 as a quasiparticle arising in a system that has strong plasmon-electron interactions. In the original work, the plasmaron was proposed to describe a secondary peak (or satellite) in the ...

Plasmasphere The plasmasphere, or inner magnetosphere, is a region of the Earth's magnetosphere consisting of low-energy (cool) plasma. It is located above the ionosphere. The outer boundary of the plasmasphere is known as the plasmapause, which is defined b ...

Plasmoid A plasmoid is a coherent structure of Plasma (physics), plasma and magnetic fields. Plasmoids have been proposed to explain natural phenomena such as ball lightning, magnetic bubbles in the magnetosphere, and objects in cometary tails, in the so ...

Plasmon In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light (an optical oscillation) consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quant ...

* Plasmonic cover,

Theories of cloaking Theories of cloaking discusses various theories based on science and research, for producing an electromagnetic cloaking device. Theories presented employ transformation optics, event cloaking, dipolar scattering cancellation, tunneling light tr ...

* Plasmonic laser,

Nanolaser A nanolaser is a laser that has Nanoscopic scale, nanoscale dimensions and it refers to a micro-/nano- device which can emit light with light or electric excitation of nanowires or other nanomaterials that serve as resonators. A standard feature of ...

* Plasmonic metamaterials * Plasmonic nanolithography * Plasmonic Nanoparticles * Plasmonic solar cell *

Polarization density In classical electromagnetism, polarization density (or electric polarization, or simply polarization) is the vector field that expresses the volumetric density of permanent or induced electric dipole moments in a dielectric material. When a die ...

* Polarization ripples *

Polar (satellite) The Global Geospace Science (GGS) ''Polar'' satellite was a NASA science spacecraft designed to study the polar magnetosphere and aurorae. It was launched into orbit in February 1996, and continued operations until the program was terminated in ...

* Polymeric surfaces *

Polywell The polywell is a proposed design for a fusion reactor using an electric and magnetic field to heat ions to fusion conditions. The design is related to the fusor, the high beta fusion reactor, the magnetic mirror, and the biconic cusp. A set of e ...

Ponderomotive force In physics, a ponderomotive force is an nonlinear force that a charged particle experiences in an inhomogeneous oscillating electromagnetic field. It causes the particle to move towards the area of the weaker field strength, rather than oscillati ...

* Princeton field-reversed configuration experiment * Propulsive Fluid Accumulator, nuclear-powered magnetohydrodynamic electromagnetic plasma thruster *

Proton beam A charged particle beam is a spatially localized group of electrically charged particles that have approximately the same position, kinetic energy (resulting in the same velocity), and direction. The kinetic energies of the particles are much la ...

* Pseudospark switch *

Pulsed Energy Projectile Pulsed energy projectile or PEP is a technology of non-lethal weaponry. The U.S. military is developing PEP using an invisible laser pulse which ablates the target's surface and creates a small amount of exploding plasma. This produces a pressure ...

Pulsed laser deposition Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique where a high-power pulsed laser beam is focused inside a vacuum chamber to strike a target of the material that is to be deposited. This material is vaporized from the ...

, Dynamic of the plasma * Pulsed plasma thruster, also Plasma Jet Engines

Q

* Q-machine *

QCD matter Quark matter or QCD matter ( quantum chromodynamic) refers to any of a number of hypothetical phases of matter whose degrees of freedom include quarks and gluons, of which the prominent example is quark-gluon plasma. Several series of conferences ...

Quadrupole ion trap In experimental physics, a quadrupole ion trap or paul trap is a type of ion trap that uses dynamic electric fields to trap charged particles. They are also called radio frequency (RF) traps or Paul traps in honor of Wolfgang Paul, who invented ...

* Quantum cascade laser *

Quark–gluon plasma Quark–gluon plasma (QGP or quark soup) is an interacting localized assembly of quarks and gluons at Thermodynamic equilibrium#Local and global equilibrium, thermal (local kinetic) and (close to) chemical (abundance) equilibrium. The word ''plasm ...

Quarkonium In particle physics, quarkonium (from quark and -onium, pl. quarkonia) is a flavor (physics), flavorless meson whose constituents are a heavy quark and its own antiquark, making it both a neutral particle and its own antiparticle. The name "quarko ...

Quasar A quasar ( ) is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

Quasiparticle In condensed matter physics, a quasiparticle is a concept used to describe a collective behavior of a group of particles that can be treated as if they were a single particle. Formally, quasiparticles and collective excitations are closely relate ...

R

Radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

Radiation damage Radiation damage is the effect of ionizing radiation on physical objects including non-living structural materials. It can be either detrimental or beneficial for materials. Radiobiology is the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living ...

Radical polymerization In polymer chemistry, radical polymerization (RP) is a method of polymerization by which a polymer forms by the successive addition of a radical to building blocks ( repeat units). Radicals can be formed by a number of different mechanisms, usu ...

Radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

* Radio atmospheric *

Radio galaxy A radio galaxy is a galaxy with giant regions of radio emission extending well beyond its visible structure. These energetic radio lobes are powered by jets from its active galactic nucleus. They have luminosities up to 1039 W at radio wav ...

* Radio halo * Radio relics *

Railgun A railgun or rail gun, sometimes referred to as a rail cannon, is a linear motor device, typically designed as a ranged weapon, that uses Electromagnet, electromagnetic force to launch high-velocity Projectile, projectiles. The projectile norma ...

* Radio Aurora Explorer (RAX) *

Random phase approximation The random phase approximation (RPA) is an approximation method in condensed matter physics and nuclear physics. It was first introduced by David Bohm and David Pines as an important result in a series of seminal papers of 1952 and 1953. For decade ...

Ray tracing (physics) In physics, ray tracing is a method for calculating the path of waves or Subatomic particle, particles through a system with regions of varying propagation velocity, absorption characteristics, and reflecting surfaces. Under these circumstances, ...

Reactive-ion etching Reactive-ion etching (RIE) is an etching (microfabrication), etching technology used in microfabrication. RIE is a type of dry etching which has different characteristics than Isotropic etching, wet etching. RIE uses chemical reaction, chemically ...

Reaction engine A reaction engine is an engine, engine or motor that produces thrust by expelling reaction mass (reaction propulsion), in accordance with Newton's third law of motion. This law of motion is commonly paraphrased as: "For every action force there ...

Rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The process is known as ''rectification'', since it "straightens" t ...

, Plasma type *

Refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is the ratio of the apparent speed of light in the air or vacuum to the speed in the medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refrac ...

Reionization In the fields of Big Bang theory and physical cosmology, cosmology, reionization is the process that caused electrically neutral atoms in the primordial universe to reionize after the lapse of the "Timeline of the Big Bang#Dark Ages, dark ages". ...

Relativistic beaming In physics, relativistic beaming (also known as Doppler beaming, Doppler boosting, or the headlight effect) is the process by which relativistic effects modify the apparent luminosity of emitting matter that is moving at speeds close to th ...

Relativistic jet An astrophysical jet is an astronomical phenomenon where outflows of ionised matter are emitted as extended beams along the axis of rotation. When this greatly accelerated matter in the beam approaches the speed of light, astrophysical jets becom ...

Relativistic particle In particle physics, a relativistic particle is an elementary particle with kinetic energy greater than or equal to its rest-mass energy given by Einstein's relation, E=m_0c^2, or specifically, of which the velocity is comparable to the speed of l ...

* Relativistic plasma *

Relativistic similarity parameter In relativistic laser-plasma physics the relativistic similarity parameter ''S'' is a dimensionless parameter defined as : S=\frac, where is the electron plasma density, is the critical plasma density and is the normalized vector potential. ...

* Remote plasma-enhanced CVD * Resistive ballooning mode *

Resolved sideband cooling Resolved sideband cooling is a laser cooling technique allowing cooling of tightly bound atoms and ions beyond the Doppler cooling limit, potentially to their motional ground state. Aside from the curiosity of having a particle at zero point energy ...

* Resonant magnetic perturbations * Resonator mode *

Reversed field pinch A reversed-field pinch (RFP) is a device used to produce and contain near-thermonuclear plasmas. It is a toroidal pinch that uses a unique magnetic field configuration as a scheme to magnetically confine a plasma, primarily to study magnetic ...

Richtmyer–Meshkov instability The Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI) occurs when two fluids of different density are impulsively accelerated. Normally this is by the passage of a shock wave. The development of the instability begins with small amplitude perturbations which i ...

* Riggatron *

Ring current A ring current is an electric current carried by charged particles trapped in a planet's magnetosphere. It is caused by the longitudinal drift of energetic (10–200 k eV) particles. Earth Earth's ring current is responsible for shielding th ...

Rocket engine nozzle A rocket engine nozzle is a propelling nozzle (usually of the de Laval type) used in a rocket engine to expand and accelerate combustion products to high supersonic velocities. Simply: propellants pressurized by either pumps or high pressure ...

* Runaway breakdown *

Rydberg atom A Rydberg atom is an excited atom with one or more electrons that have a very high principal quantum number, ''n''. The higher the value of ''n'', the farther the electron is from the nucleus, on average. Rydberg atoms have a number of peculi ...

* Rydberg matter

S

Safety factor (plasma physics) In a toroidal fusion power reactor, the magnetic fields confining the plasma (physics), plasma are formed in a helical shape, winding around the interior of the reactor. The safety factor, labeled q or q(r), is the ratio of the times a particular ...

* Saha ionization equation * Sceptre (fusion reactor) *

Scramjet A scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to compress the incoming air forcefully b ...

Screened Poisson equation In physics, the screened Poisson equation is a Poisson equation, which arises in (for example) the Klein–Gordon equation, electric field screening in Plasma (physics), plasmas, and nonlocal granular fluidity in granular flow. Statement of the eq ...

* SEAgel, Safe Emulsion Agar gel * Selected-ion flow-tube mass spectrometry *

Self-focusing Self-focusing is a non-linear optical process induced by the change in refractive index of materials exposed to intense electromagnetic radiation. A medium whose refractive index increases with the electric field intensity acts as a focusing lens ...

Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe The sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (also sensitive high mass-resolution ion microprobe or SHRIMP) is a large-diameter, double-focusing secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) sector instrument that was produced by Australian Scientific ...

Shielding gas Shielding gases are inert or semi-inert gases that are commonly used in several welding processes, most notably gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding (GMAW and GTAW, more popularly known as MIG (Metal Inert Gas) and TIG (Tungsten I ...

Shiva laser The Shiva laser was a powerful 20-beam infrared neodymium glass (silica glass) laser built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1977 for the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and long-scale-length laser-plasma interactions. Presu ...

* Shiva Star *

Shock diamond Shock diamonds (also known as Mach diamonds or thrust diamonds, and less commonly Mach disks) are a formation of standing wave patterns that appear in the supersonic exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system, such as a supersonic jet engi ...

Shocks and discontinuities (magnetohydrodynamics) In magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), shocks and discontinuities are transition layers where properties of a plasma change from one equilibrium state to another. The relation between the plasma properties on both sides of a shock or a discontinuity can b ...

Shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

Oblique shock An oblique shock wave is a shock wave that, unlike a normal shock, is inclined with respect to the direction of incoming air. It occurs when a supersonic flow encounters a corner that effectively turns the flow into itself and compresses. The ...

Skin effect In electromagnetism, skin effect is the tendency of an alternating current, alternating electric current (AC) to become distributed within a Conductor (material), conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface of the conduc ...

* Skip zone *

Sky brightness Sky brightness refers to the visual perception of the sky and how it scatters and diffuses light. The fact that the sky is not completely dark at night is easily visible. If light sources (e.g. the Moon and light pollution) were removed fro ...

Skywave In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvatur ...

Slapper detonator A slapper detonator, also called exploding foil initiator (EFI), is a detonator developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US Patent No. 4,788,913 (Filed 1971, Granted 1988). It is an improvement over the earlier exploding-bridgewire de ...

Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak The Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak (START) was a nuclear fusion experiment that used magnetic confinement to hold plasma. START was the first full-sized machine to use the spherical tokamak design, which aimed to greatly reduce the aspect rati ...

Solar cycle The Solar cycle, also known as the solar magnetic activity cycle, sunspot cycle, or Schwabe cycle, is a periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity measured in terms of Modern Maximum, variations in the number of observed sunspots on the Sun ...

Cosmic ray Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the ...

flux *

Solar flare A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and ot ...

Solar Orbiter The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heli ...

, Radio and Plasma Wave analyser *

Solar prominence In solar physics, a prominence, sometimes referred to as a filament, is a large Plasma (physics), plasma and magnetic field structure extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface ...

Solar transition region The solar transition region is a region of the Sun's atmosphere between the upper chromosphere and corona. It is important because it is the site of several unrelated but important transitions in the physics of the solar atmosphere: * Below, gr ...

Solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...

* Solar wind turbulence *

Solenoid upright=1.20, An illustration of a solenoid upright=1.20, Magnetic field created by a seven-loop solenoid (cross-sectional view) described using field lines A solenoid () is a type of electromagnet formed by a helix, helical coil of wire whos ...

Solution precursor plasma spray Solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) is a thermal spray process where a feedstock solution is heated and then deposited onto a substrate. Basic properties of the process are fundamentally similar to other plasma spraying processes. However, inst ...

, Plasma plume *

Sonoluminescence Sonoluminescence is the emission of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound. Sonoluminescence was first discovered in 1934 at the University of Cologne. It occurs when a sound wave of sufficient intensity induces a gaseo ...

South Atlantic Anomaly The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is an area where Earth's inner Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to Earth's surface, dipping down to an altitude of . This leads to an increased flux of energetic particles in this region and exposes orbitin ...

Southern Hemisphere Auroral Radar Experiment The Southern Hemisphere Auroral Radar Experiment, or SHARE, started in 1988, is an Antarctic research project designed to observe velocities and irregularities of electrical fields in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. It is operated jointly by the ...

Space physics Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy, aurorae, planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, ...

* Spacequake *

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

Space Shuttle thermal protection system The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) is the barrier that protected the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the extreme heat of atmospheric reentry. A secondary goal was to protect from the heat and cold of space while in orbit. Material ...

Space tether missions A number of space tethers have been deployed in space missions. Tether satellites can be used for various purposes including research into tether propulsion, Gravity-gradient stabilization, tidal stabilisation and orbital plasma dynamics. The m ...

Spark-gap transmitter A spark-gap transmitter is an obsolete type of transmitter, radio transmitter which generates radio waves by means of an electric spark."Radio Transmitters, Early" in Spark-gap transmitters were the first type of radio transmitter, and were the m ...

Spark plasma sintering Spark plasma sintering (SPS), also known as field assisted sintering technique (FAST) or pulsed electric current sintering (PECS), or plasma pressure compaction (P2C) is a sintering technique. The main characteristic of SPS is that the pulsed or u ...

Spaser A spaser or plasmonic laser is a type of laser which aims to confine light at a subwavelength scale far below John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, Rayleigh's Diffraction limited beam, diffraction limit of light, by storing some of the light ene ...

* Spectral imaging *

Spectral line A spectral line is a weaker or stronger region in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum. It may result from emission (electromagnetic radiation), emission or absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of light in a narrow frequency ...

Spherical tokamak A spherical tokamak is a type of fusion power device based on the tokamak principle. It is notable for its very narrow profile, or ''aspect ratio''. A traditional tokamak has a toroidal confinement area that gives it an overall shape similar to ...

Spheromak A spheromak is an arrangement of plasma formed into a toroidal shape similar to a smoke ring. The spheromak contains large internal electric currents and their associated magnetic fields arranged so the magnetohydrodynamic forces within the s ...

* Spinplasmonics *

Spontaneous emission Spontaneous emission is the process in which a Quantum mechanics, quantum mechanical system (such as a molecule, an atom or a subatomic particle) transits from an excited state, excited energy state to a lower energy state (e.g., its ground state ...

* Spreeta *

Sprite (lightning) Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are usually triggered ...

* Sputter cleaning *

Sputter deposition Sputter deposition is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method of thin film deposition by the phenomenon of sputtering. This involves ejecting material from a "target" that is a source onto a "substrate" such as a silicon wafer. Resputtering is ...

Sputtering In physics, sputtering is a phenomenon in which microscopic particles of a solid material are ejected from its surface, after the material is itself bombarded by energetic particles of a plasma or gas. It occurs naturally in outer space, and c ...

* SSIES, Special Sensors-Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation thermal plasma analysis package * SST-1 (tokamak), Steady State Tokamak *

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

* Star lifting *

State of matter In physics, a state of matter is one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist. Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma. Different states are distinguished by the ways the ...

Static forces and virtual-particle exchange Static force fields are fields, such as a simple electric, magnetic or gravitational fields, that exist without excitations. The most common approximation method that physicists use for scattering calculations can be interpreted as static forces ...

Stellarator A stellarator confines Plasma (physics), plasma using external magnets. Scientists aim to use stellarators to generate fusion power. It is one of many types of magnetic confinement fusion devices. The name "stellarator" refers to stars because ...

Stellar-wind bubble A stellar-wind bubble is a cavity light-years across filled with hot gas blown into the interstellar medium by the high-velocity (several thousand km/s) stellar wind from a single massive star of type O or B. Weaker stellar winds also blow ...

* St. Elmo's fire * Strahl (astronomy) *

Strangeness production In particle physics, strangeness (symbol ''S'') is a property of particles, expressed as a quantum number, for describing decay of particles in strong and electromagnetic interactions that occur in a short period of time. The strangeness of a p ...

* Strontium vapor laser *

Structure formation In physical cosmology, structure formation describes the creation of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and larger structures starting from small fluctuations in mass density resulting from processes that created matter. The universe, as is now known from ...

* Sudden ionospheric disturbance *

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

* SUNIST, Sino-UNIted Spherical Tokamak, Alfven wave current drive experiments in spherical tokamak plasmas *

Superlens A superlens, or super lens, is a lens which uses metamaterials to go beyond the diffraction limit. The diffraction limit is a feature of conventional lenses and microscopes that limits the fineness of their resolution depending on the illumination ...

, Plasmon-assisted microscopy *

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

Supernova remnants A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar mat ...

Sura Ionospheric Heating Facility The Sura Ionospheric Heating Facility, located near the small town of Vasilsursk about 100 km (60 miles) eastward from Nizhniy Novgorod in Russia, is a laboratory for ionosphere research. Sura is capable of radiating about 80 megawatts at ...

* Surface-wave-sustained mode *

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy or surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a surface-sensitive technique that enhances Raman scattering by molecules adsorbed on rough metal surfaces or by nanostructures such as plasmonic-magnetic sili ...

* Surface plasmon * Surface plasmon polaritons *

Surface plasmon resonance Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a phenomenon that occurs where electrons in a thin metal sheet become excited by light that is directed to the sheet with a particular angle of incidence (optics), angle of incidence, and then travel parallel to ...

* Suspension plasma spray *

Synchrotron light source A synchrotron light source is a source of electromagnetic radiation (EM) usually produced by a storage ring, for scientific and technical purposes. First observed in synchrotrons, synchrotron light is now produced by storage rings and othe ...

T

* Taylor state *

Teller–Ulam design A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

, Foam plasma pressure * Tesla coil *

Test particle In physical theories, a test particle, or test charge, is an idealized model of an object whose physical properties (usually mass, charge, or size) are assumed to be negligible except for the property being studied, which is considered to be insuf ...

, in plasma physics or electrodynamics *

Thermal barrier coating Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are advanced materials systems usually applied to metallic surfaces on parts operating at elevated temperatures, such as gas turbine combustors and turbines, and in automotive exhaust heat management. These 100 ...

Thermalisation In physics, thermalisation (or thermalization) is the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction. In general, the natural tendency of a system is towards a state of equipartition of energy and uniform tempe ...

Thermionic converter A thermionic converter consists of a hot electrode which thermionically emits electrons over a potential energy barrier to a cooler electrode, producing a useful electric power output. Caesium vapor is used to optimize the electrode work functi ...

Thermodynamic temperature Thermodynamic temperature, also known as absolute temperature, is a physical quantity which measures temperature starting from absolute zero, the point at which particles have minimal thermal motion. Thermodynamic temperature is typically expres ...

Thomson scattering Thomson scattering is the elastic scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a free charged particle, as described by classical electromagnetism. It is the low-energy limit of Compton scattering: the particle's kinetic energy and photon frequency ...

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

Tokamak A tokamak (; ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field generated by external magnets to confine plasma (physics), plasma in the shape of an axially symmetrical torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement fusi ...

* Tokamak à configuration variable *

Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) was an experimental tokamak built at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) circa 1980 and entering service in 1982. TFTR was designed with the explicit goal of reaching scientific breakeven, the point w ...

Toroidal ring model The toroidal ring model, known originally as the Parson magneton or magnetic electron, is a physical model of subatomic particles. It is also known as the plasmoid ring, vortex ring, or helicon ring. This physical model treated electrons and p ...

Townsend discharge In electromagnetism, the Townsend discharge or Townsend avalanche is an ionisation process for gases where free electrons are accelerated by an electric field, collide with gas molecules, and consequently free additional electrons. Those electr ...

* Townsend (unit) *

Transformation optics Transformation optics is a branch of optics which applies metamaterials to produce spatial variations, derived from coordinate transformations, which can direct chosen bandwidths of electromagnetic radiation. This can allow for the construction o ...

Transmission medium A transmission medium is a system or substance that can mediate the propagation of signals for the purposes of telecommunication. Signals are typically imposed on a wave of some kind suitable for the chosen medium. For example, data can modula ...

* Trisops, Force Free Plasma Vortices * Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy * Tweeter, Plasma or Ion tweeter * Two-dimensional guiding-center plasma * Two-dimensional point vortex gas * Two-stream instability

U

* U-HID, Ultra High Intensity Discharge * UMIST linear system * Undulator * Upper hybrid oscillation * Upper-atmospheric lightning

V

* Vacuum arc, thermionic vacuum arc generates a pure metal and ceramic vapour plasma * Van Allen radiation belt * Vapor–liquid–solid method * Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket * Vector inversion generator * Versatile Toroidal Facility * Violet wand * Virial theorem * Vlasov equation * Volatilisation * VORPAL, Versatile Object-oriented Relativistic Plasma Analysis with Lasers * Voyager program, Plasma Wave Subsystem

W

* Warm dense matter * Wave equation * Waves in plasmas * Wave turbulence * Weibel instability * Wendelstein 7-X * Wiggler (synchrotron) * WIND (spacecraft) * Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle * Wireless energy transfer * Wouthuysen-Field coupling

X

* XANES, X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure * Xenon arc lamp * X-ray transient * X-ray astronomy * X-shaped radio galaxy

Y

Z

* Zakharov system * Zero-point energy * ZETA (fusion reactor) * Zonal and poloidal * Zonal flow (plasma) * Z Pulsed Power Facility

References

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