Coronal holes

[tolenio]

Hello,

How does the EU theory define the formation of coronal holes?



Is there a relationship between sunspot positions and coronal hole formation?



To me, from this magnetogram, it looks like a large area of primarily southern polarization (black = southern polarization)



Tom

[Sparky]

Coronal holes are linked to unipolar concentrations of open magnetic field lines.


This "open magnetic field lines" seems at odds, but

Coronal holes make for a gusty solar wind. For example, the solar wind usually leaves the sun at speeds of around 250 miles (400 kilometers) per second, but solar wind leaving through the center of a coronal hole travels much faster, up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) per second.

this seems to be describing a focusing mechanism.

So, would the "open field lines" be an illusion created by the perspective parameters ?

[tolenio]

Hi,

Is that the EU model of coronal holes on Wikipedia or the consensus model?

Tom

[seasmith]

Holes & Spots


Hi Tom,

Have you googled those terms along with the names Wal Thornhill and Don Scott ?

On the face of it, it seems the primary difference is the geometry of the associated magnetic field topologies. The ion flows follow along.

Here's a NASA compilation of related observations:

http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/chole.html

Cheers, s

[nick c]

http://electric-cosmos.org/sun.htm

The Sun's corona is difficult to see except in solar eclipses and in X ray images. This is because the corona is a "normal glow" discharge compared to the tufts which are in "arc mode". In some X ray images of the Sun (such as the one shown in the first figure at the very top of this page) we can see "coronal holes" - large dark regions in the brighter image of the solar corona. The bright regions in X-ray images of the corona indicate hotter, more energetic areas; these are mainly above the sunspot regions.

It would seem from this, that Scott is saying that dark areas of the corona are a lower energy discharge, and consequently have less or no glow, relative to the rest of the corona (plasma discharge in glow mode).

plasma modes:
http://glow-discharge.com/Index.php?Phy ... ge_Regimes

[Sparky]

Tom, we have to use standard model data and papers to extract EU information. It's all in the interpretation and conclusions.

Coronal holes make for a gusty solar wind. For example, the solar wind usually leaves the sun at speeds of around 250 miles (400 kilometers) per second, but solar wind leaving through the center of a coronal hole travels much faster, up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) per second.

Less "energy" allows more ions to exit at higher speeds, is what the standard model is saying, and that seems to be a conclusion that could be reached with EU, as I understand it.

[tolenio]

Hello,

I understand that a magnetic field can accelerate charged particles. Which aspect of the sun's magnetic field/s would be responsible for the higher accelleration related to solar wind streams from a coronal hole?

I say "fields" in the plural for there are multiple evolving, growing and waning fields at all times. Or are they all simply twisted, convuluted aspects of a single field? Much like a clown twisting and tying a single ballon into a unrelated shape.





The shifting of cornal hole latitude being linked to the progession of the solar cycle is interesting too.

Does this MIT experitment instruct us at all regarding sunspots, coronal holes, flares, and the axial rotating magnetic field of the sun?

Experiment on fluid Motion MIT, Lorenz, Zahn -2002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu6L2M2gpu4

I always viewed that experiment as instructive on galaxy formation and evolution the shape being a function of hertz and gauss of the axial rotating magnetic field. Maybe it speaks to coronal holes too.



Take this image from the experiemnt, is it aspects of coronal holes, sunspots and corona?



Unlike the experiment the hertz and gauss of the sun's plasma discharge and related axial rotating magnetic field is always evolving and changing, hence the sun evolves and changes.

Tom

[seasmith]

http://glow-discharge.com/Index.php?Phy ... ge_Regimes

nick,

that's a valuable link, thank you



tom,




cymatics to the music of the spheres

[Solar]

cymatics to the music of the spheres

That is very well stated and understood awareness Seasmith.

[nick c]

http://glow-discharge.com/Index.php?Physical_background:Glow_Discharges:Discharge_Regimes
nick,

that's a valuable link, thank you

Thanks to Michael Gmirkin, he pointed out that site. I put it in my favorites, it sorts things out nicely.

[CharlesChandler]

I don't buy the standard "open magnetic field lines" explanation for the fast solar wind through coronal holes, and for a number of reasons. First, plasma isn't really famous for strong magnetic dipoles. These are generally a consequence of stable electron orbitals, which plasma does not have. Ferromagnetism actually requires a crystal lattice, with orbitals that all get lined up and therefore contribute to the overall field, which obviously plasma does not have. But even if plasma had strong magnetic dipoles, "open field lines" wouldn't do anything. Magnetism can only accelerate dipoles where the magnetic lines of force are converging, and the acceleration is only in the direction of the convergence. For example, in the presence of a bar magnet, iron filings are attracted to either the N or the S pole, whichever is closer. So there is no way to accelerate a magnetic dipole away from one pole (going in a direction in which the lines of force are diverging) and all of the way to the other pole. The acceleration is only in the direction of convergence. Hence "open field lines" aren't going to accelerate anything, and diverging field lines will pull stuff back in (if the particles had strong magnetic dipoles, which they do not).

Aside from magnetized particles (which are not present), time-varying magnetic fields can induce electric currents. But this isn't relevant. The particles in the solar wind always flow away from the Sun. So if that's a current, it's a direct current. To generate a direct current, the magnetic field always has to vary in the same direction. If the field first goes one way and then the other, you get alternating current. So what kind of magnetic field would induce a steady direct current? Under the circumstances, there isn't one. So those are charged particles alright, but they aren't motivated by a magnetic flux.

That only leaves one possibility: the charged particles are motivated by an electric field between the Sun and the interplanetary medium. Alfven estimated this field at 1.6 GV, and that squares with other calculations I've made on the total number of watts generated by the flow of an electric current out of the Sun. To make a long story short, there is a steady stream of electrons emerging from the Sun, that light up the photosphere and the corona on their way out into the positively charged interplanetary medium.

So why would we see fast solar wind (i.e., 800 km/s) in the coronal holes, and slow solar wind (i.e., 400 km/s) in the helmet streamers? It seems that the density of ions in the corona varies. If the plasma is thick, the electrons streaming out of the Sun are slowed down as they light up the streamers. If the plasma is thinner, the electrons aren't slowed down at all, and they zip out into space at twice the speed.

Here's a graph that shows the inverse relationship between proton density (the red graph) and solar wind speed (the white graph):

http://qdl.scs-inc.us/2ndParty/Images/Charles/Sun/SolarWindSpeedAndDensity.png