A diocotron instability is a
plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
instability created by two sheets of
charge slipping past each other. Energy is dissipated in the form of two
surface wave
In physics, a surface wave is a mechanical wave that propagates along the Interface (chemistry), interface between differing media. A common example is gravity waves along the surface of liquids, such as ocean waves. Gravity waves can also occu ...
s which
propagate
Propagation can refer to:
*Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism
*Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials
*Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda
*Reproduction, and other forms ...
in opposite directions, one flowing over the other. This instability is the plasma analog of the
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in
fluid mechanics.
References
*
Plasma instabilities
Articles containing video clips
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