Physics of Space Plasmas: An Introduction

This textbook was developed to provide seniors and first-year graduate students in physical sciences with a general knowledge of electrodynamic phenomena in space. Since the launch of the first unmanned satellite in 1957, experiments have been performed to study the behavior of electromagnetic fields and charged particles. There is now a considerable amount of data on hand, and many articles, including excellent review articles, have been written for the specialists. However, for students, new researchers, and non-specialists, a need still exists for a book that integrates these observations in a coherent way. This book is an attempt to meet that need by using the theory of classical electrodynamics to unify space observations. The contents of this book are based on classroom notes developed for an introductory space physics course that the author has taught for many years at the University of Washington. Students taking the course normally have had an undergraduate course in electricity and magnetism but they come with very little knowledge about space.