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VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-2657
DTSTART:20120507T170500Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260312T110604Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20120412T193927Z
LOCATION:2535 Engineering Hall
SUMMARY:Magnetic Reconnection in Plasmas\; a Celestial Phenomenon in t
 he Laboratory\, Plasma Physics (Physics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar\, Prof. Ja
 n Egedal\, MIT
DESCRIPTION:Coronal mass ejections from the sun are the most explosive
  events that occur<br>
\nin our solar system. Closer to home\, the aur
 ora borealis is one of the most<br>
\nspectacular\, naturally occurrin
 g\, light show at high latitudes on the Earth. Both<br>
\nof these lar
 ge scale events are driven by magnetic reconnection in plasmas.<br>
\n
 The spontaneous rearrangement of magnetic field topology provides the<
 br>
\nenormous energy needed for these celestially magnificent and div
 erse<br>
\nphenomena.<br>
\nFor more than fifty years\, magnetic recon
 nection has been a fascinating topic of<br>
\nresearch in plasma physi
 cs. While we do not fully understand the process of<br>
\nreconnection
 \, significant progress has been made in the past decade through<br>
\
 ndetailed analysis of laboratory experiments\, and computer simulation
 s. The<br>
\nVersatile Toroidal Facility at MIT is one such experiment
  dedicated to the study<br>
\nof magnetic reconnection. In this talk I
  will describe the recent experimental<br>
\nobservations which have l
 ed to a new theoretical paradigm for magnetic<br>
\nreconnection. Larg
 e scale computer simulations support the theoretical and<br>
\nexperim
 ental results. The analysis of experimental observations in a laborato
 ry<br>
\ndevice has led to a comprehensive understanding of data from 
 spacecraft<br>
\nobserving celestial reconnection events in the Eartha
 EuroTMs magnetosphere.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=2657
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