PHYS4383 - Plasma Physics

PHYS 4383 Plasma Physics (3 semester hours) Plasmas are the fourth state of matter, in which some or all of the neutral particles in a gas are ionized. A working knowledge of plasma physics is important in nuclear physics, semiconductor processing, space science, astronomy, and many other areas. This course will examine the fundamental treatment of plasmas as embodied in the fluid equations, magneto-hydrodynamics, and simple kinetic theory. Specific topics include plasma waves and instabilities, diffusion, guiding center motion and drifts, currents in plasmas, and particle collisions. Prerequisite: PHYS 3311 or PHYS 3411. Prerequisite or corequisite: PHYS 3416. (3-0) R