INTRODUCTION TO PLASMA PHYSICS

Course Description

This seminar is a brief introduction to plasma physics. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, and studying the motion of plasmas is truly fascinating. In this course, students will be able to learn and grasp basic concepts of plasma physics.

This seminar goes into the physics of cold plasmas, warm plasmas, applications such as tokamaks, magnetized plasma, plasmas in dielectrics, basic magnetohydrodynamics, and kinetics.

Additional topics may be included if time permits. This class is a 2-unit seminar and the units will be based on the following criteria: (1) participation in lectures and (2) completion of the 1-2 problems assigned on various weeks.

The only prerequisites are:
•Classical Mechanics, so Phys CS 31-32 or Phys 104 (can be taken concurrently),
•an in-depth understanding of electromagnetism, so either Phys CS 34-35, or Phys 110A-110B, and
•mathematics up to Math 6B.

Some knowledge of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics is also recommended, but not required.

This is a student-led colloquium led by Montu Ganesh under the supervision of Omer Blaes.

Optional Text

Dendy, R.O, Plasma Dynamics