 | | |
|
A Brief History of Plasma I
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917), the first 'space scientist,' Norway |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Birkeland was among the first to speculate
that the Northern Lights were charged particles ejected
from the Sun, captured by the Earth's magnetic field,
and directed towards the polar atmosphere. To prove
this theory, Birkeland performed his famous Terella (Little Earth) experiments, in which he artificially created the aurora
in the laboratory. His theories were initially laughed
at, and it is only now, in the space age, that measurements
from satellites are proving him correct. After a controversy
that raged for a quarter of a century, the electric currents
that flow through space were named after him — Birkeland currents.
"It seems to be a natural consequence of our point of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and flying electric ions of all kinds, and we have assumed that each solar system in evolution throws off electric corpuscles into space. It does not seem unreasonable therefore to think that the greater part of the material masses in the universe are not in the solar systems or nebulae but in empty space."
Kristian Birkeland
Significantly, his approach to science
was broad, comprising observation and laboratory experimentation
in addition to mathematical modelling. He was not content
with a merely theoretical approach, despite having trained
as a mathematician himself.
He is probably Norway's greatest ever
scientist, and many of his works are still used as reference
materials. He is recognised
for bringing plasma and electromagnetism into cosmology,
but while many of his ideas are
widely accepted, his cosmological theories are less
well known. He died aged 49, just when a working
committee was in the process of nominating him for the
Nobel Prize in Physics.
Birkeland has been called the first 'space scientist'. He was a full professor of physics at the University of Oslo aged just 31. |
|
 |
| |
|
|
Sydney Chapman (1888–1970) became one of the leading figures in magnetospheric physics following the death of Kristian Birkeland. Like many theoretical physicists of his era, he relied heavily on mathematical models and remained sceptical of Birkeland's experimental conclusions.
Chapman's models confined electric currents largely to the Earth's ionosphere and treated interplanetary space as essentially a vacuum. In contrast, Birkeland had proposed that the Earth is immersed in an electrically active environment, connected to the Sun by vast current systems.
Space-age observations ultimately confirmed that Birkeland's picture was substantially closer to reality. The Earth's magnetosphere is not an isolated magnetic bubble but part of a complex, three-dimensional system of plasma, magnetic fields, and electric currents extending throughout the Solar System. Today, these current systems are known as Birkeland currents in recognition of his pioneering work. |
|
"Gravitational
systems are the 'ashes' of prior electrical systems."
Hannes Alfvén |
| |
|
|
| Irving Langmuir (1881-1957), USA |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Langmuir first used the term plasma in 1927, borrowing it from blood plasma to describe the almost life-like, self-organising behaviour of an ionised gas in the presence of electric currents and magnetic fields.
During his experiments, Langmuir observed electrons and ions separating to form plasma sheaths, now more commonly known as double layers. These structures are among the most important features of plasma behaviour and play a fundamental role in the acceleration and transfer of electrical energy within plasmas.
Langmuir also helped establish the modern understanding of atomic bonding through his work on valence. Although this contribution is widely recognised within chemistry, comparatively few textbooks acknowledge the profound influence his plasma research has had on modern plasma physics and space science.
In 1932, he became the first industrial, or "non-academic", chemist to receive the Nobel Prize. The Langmuir probe, still widely used to measure the properties of laboratory and space plasmas, bears his name.
"[There] are cases where there is no dishonesty involved but where people are tricked into false results by a lack of understanding about what human beings can do to themselves in the way of being led astray by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions. These are examples of pathological science. These are things that attracted a great deal of attention. Usually hundreds of papers have been published upon them. Sometimes they have lasted for fifteen or twenty years and then they gradually die away."
Irving Langmuir
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) — The father
of modern plasma physics and pioneer of plasma cosmology, Sweden |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Alfvén is widely regarded as the father of modern plasma physics and
the principal pioneer of plasma cosmology. He continued the work of Birkeland, feeling very much in spirit with
him, and eventually won a Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking
contributions. He was not always highly regarded by
the scientific establishment because of his controversial
ideas, however, and suffered no little condescension
and ridicule in his lifetime.
In retrospect, it seems remarkable that he was not awarded the Nobel
Prize until 1970, especially considering the breadth of his fundamental contributions. For
some time he was forced to publish in journals that
did not enjoy international readership. His ideas reached a much wider scientific audience with
the publication of his groundbreaking book Cosmical Electrodynamics: Fundamental Principles, published by Oxford
University Press in 1950.
Today, Alfvén's name lives on in numerous scientific concepts, including Alfvén waves, the Alfvén speed, the Alfvén radius,
and the Alfvén current—all fundamental to modern plasma physics and space science.
Alfvén took a practical and intuitive
approach to science, insisting that theories of cosmological
phenomena must agree with laboratory experiments (the
definition of 'laboratory' being broadened to include
experiments in space). Trained originally as an electrical engineer, Alfvén took a practical
and intuitive approach to science, insisting that theories of cosmological phenomena should agree with laboratory
experiments—the definition of "laboratory" being broadened to include experiments conducted in space. This stood in marked
contrast to the approach often favoured by Big Bang cosmologists, who tended to begin with idealised mathematical models.
In 1937, Alfvén proposed that our Galaxy possesses a large-scale magnetic field and that charged particles
travel in spiral paths through it under the influence of electromagnetic forces. The plasma itself carries the electric
currents that generate the magnetic field.
"In order to understand the phenomena in a certain plasma region, it is necessary to map not only the magnetic but also the electric field and the electric currents. Space is filled with a network of currents which transfer energy and momentum over large or very large distances..."
Hannes Alfvén, Cosmology in the Plasma Universe: An Introductory Exposition, 1990.
Although many of Alfvén's scientific discoveries are now widely accepted, the
broader cosmological implications of his work remain far less widely recognised. Ironically, some have suggested that this is
partly because many of his ideas are conceptually simple, despite their profound consequences.
"The peer review system is satisfactory during quiescent times, but not
during a revolution in a discipline such as astrophysics, when the establishment seeks to preserve the status quo."
Hannes Alfvén
|
|
 |
| |
"I
have never thought that you could obtain the extremely
clumpy, heterogeneous universe we have today, strongly
affected by plasma processes, from the smooth, homogeneous
one of the Big Bang, dominated by gravitation."
Hannes Alfvén |
|
| |
|
|
| Winston H. Bostick (1916–1991), USA |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Winston H. Bostick was an American plasma physicist best known for coining the term plasmoid. His pioneering laboratory experiments revealed plasma focus and plasma vortex phenomena, demonstrating that ionised matter can spontaneously organise itself into stable, filamentary structures. He also carried out laboratory simulations of astrophysical processes, proposing that some large-scale cosmic phenomena might be explained through electromagnetic interactions rather than gravity alone. Although influential within plasma physics, many of his broader cosmological conclusions remain outside the scientific mainstream.
"...my experimental work in plasma physics for the last 36 years has shown that under many different circumstances plasmas containing nonrelativistic or relativistic electrons can spontaneously organize themselves into force-free, minimum-free-energy vortex filaments of a Beltrami morphology."
Winston H. Bostick
The Beltrami morphology referred to above is named after the Italian mathematician Eugenio Beltrami (1835–1900), whose work helped describe force-free, helically twisted structures. Similar geometries are found in laboratory plasmas, Birkeland currents, and even biological structures such as DNA. Bostick's experimental research strongly influenced later work by Hannes Alfvén and Anthony Peratt on the behaviour of cosmic plasmas.
Within the Plasma Cosmology framework, Bostick's plasma focus experiments have been proposed as a physical mechanism capable of explaining the intense energetic activity observed in the nuclei of many galaxies, offering an alternative interpretation to the gravitational black hole model favoured by conventional astrophysics.
Thunderbolts article
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| David Bohm (1917–1992), USA |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
David Bohm was a distinguished theoretical physicist whose work spanned plasma physics, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. In plasma physics he is best known for discovering the anomalous diffusion of charged particles across magnetic fields—now known as Bohm diffusion—and for his pioneering studies of plasma instabilities. His insights helped lay the foundations of modern plasma theory and influenced generations of researchers.
Later in his career, Bohm became renowned for his philosophical investigations into the nature of reality, proposing that the universe possesses an underlying order extending beyond conventional scientific descriptions. His ideas on wholeness and the interconnected nature of physical systems continue to inspire physicists, philosophers, and consciousness researchers alike.
Many other scientists have made important contributions to plasma physics and related disciplines. This page simply introduces some of the principal pioneers whose work helped shape the modern Plasma Cosmology perspective.
Today, a growing community of scientists, engineers, and independent researchers continues to build upon the work of these pioneers. While many of their laboratory discoveries have become firmly established, debate continues over their wider implications for astrophysics and cosmology. See the links page for further information.
|
|
"The universe is an unending transformation in flux whose previous states we are not privileged to know."
David Bohm
|
| |
|
|
| Summation |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Both Hannes Alfvén and Irving Langmuir were awarded Nobel Prizes for their pioneering work, and many believe Kristian Birkeland might well have received the same honour had he lived longer. Their contributions fundamentally transformed our understanding of plasma, now recognised as the most common state of ordinary matter in the observable universe.
Despite this, the broader cosmological implications of their work remain the subject of continuing debate. Alfvén, in particular, was an outspoken critic of aspects of Big Bang cosmology and consistently argued that theories should remain firmly grounded in experimental evidence rather than elegant mathematics alone. Like many scientific innovators before them, these pioneers were willing to challenge prevailing assumptions in pursuit of a deeper understanding of nature.
"To try to write a grand cosmical drama leads necessarily to myth. To try to let knowledge substitute ignorance in increasingly larger regions of space and time is science."
Hannes Alfvén
|
|
“I have no trouble publishing in Soviet astrophysical journals, but my work is unacceptable to the American astrophysical journals.”
Hannes Alfvén
|
| |
| |
| |
|
