5.1 Plasma Temperature and Potential We have seen that temperature is a measure of the thermal energy of the particles in matter. More specifically, temperature is a measure of the kinetic energy of the particles’ random thermal motion. An electron has only 1/1840th the mass (approximately) of a proton, so…
Dec 02, 2011 Gamma-rays are said to be particles with no mass, yet possessed of extreme momentum. According to a recent press release, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected several unidentified sources of intense gamma-ray emissions that are not seen in any other frequencies. NASA launched the telescope (formerly…
Dec 01, 2011 A nearby spiral galaxy in the southern sky looks like the Milky Way—except it is twice the size. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has put together an image of NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy that astronomers think looks a lot like our own Milky Way:…
Nov 30, 2011 Did pieces of stone really carve these holes? Rockwood Provincial Park lies alongside the Grand River in the Niagara Escarpment region of Canada. Numerous geological features are located in the park and all are attributed to glacial action as the sole creation mechanism. The two images above…
Nov 29, 2011 A ring of gas is said to be orbiting the center of our galaxy. In a previous Picture of the Day, a twisted ring of material within the nucleus of Centaurus A was discussed: active galaxies display characteristic axial jets and transverse, donut-shaped plasma discharges. According a…
We have compiled a list of broad, simple FAQs. Like most FAQs, these should be viewed as preliminary information for those who have not yet had the opportunity to learn about our Electric Universe. A proper exploration of EU can take the reader through thousands of free articles (Thunderbolts Picture…
Nov 28, 2011 Consensus opinions state that a star in the latter stages of its life will undergo violent upheavals as its supply of hydrogen fuel diminishes and the “ash” of heavier elements accumulates in its core. Before stars reach the final white dwarf stage in their evolution, it is…
Nov 24, 2011 Are carbonaceous asteroids the precursors of life or the wreckage of life? NASA plans to launch the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer mission, also known as OSIRIS-REx, in 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the Near Earth Object (NEO) 1999RQ36. After a year in close…
Nov 23, 2011 The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion galaxy to the Milky Way, is called a nursery for new stars. The growing awareness of plasma should make it also a nursery for new ideas to explain its features. It features glowing filaments of ionized hydrogen…
Nov 22, 2011 Water has been reportedly found inside rocks brought back from the Moon. If it is there, where did it come from? In previous Picture of the Day articles, the presence of frozen water on the Moon was considered to be a theoretical possibility, but was not given…
