What's space plasma physics, and why is UNH so good at it? Watch this animated video to find out. As we say here in New England, you'll be wicked smaht. Non-Flash version.
Space Plasma Physics
WHAT IS PLASMA?
Plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles have been ionized.
A particle becomes ionized when it loses an electron.
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WHERE IS PLASMA?
All stars and most of what’s in space is made up of plasma.
What is it doing up there?
That's what UNH space scientists try to find out.
The Plasma Hunters!
UNH is among the top universities in the country for space plasma physics.
These brainy folks look at all sorts of cool things like the interstellar boundary.
The interstellar boundary is the edge of our solar system.
One project UNH helped to develop is the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite with NASA.
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IBEX detects particles traveling inward from the boundary toward our region of the solar system.
IBEX has completed the first all-sky maps of this boundary.
We now will take questions for the remaining time.
Maybe next time.
(there could be a little less time between “darn” and “maybe next time”)
But check out www.eos.unh.edu/resctr/ssc.shtml to learn more about space plasma physics at UNH.
Produced by University Communications and Marketing
University of New Hampshire
Special thanks to Eberhard Möbius
Learn more about Space Plasma Physics.
Read more from the UNH Magazine.
Conceived and produced by:
Bridget Finnegan, UNH New and Emerging Media
Beth Potier, UNH Media Relations
©2011, University of New Hampshire