A spacecraft propulsion system utilizing the energy of the solar wind was reviewed. The first plasma sail concept was proposed by Prof. Winglee in 2000, and that was called M2P2 (mini-magnetospheric plasma-propulsion). However, the first M2P2 design adopting a small (20-cm-diamter) coil and a small helicon plasma source design was criticized by Dr. Khazanov in 2003. He insisted that: 1) MHD is ...

In the USA and Japan, an "innovative confinement concepts" program investigates alternatives to the large and expensive "tokamak" device for fusion energy. Compact toroids like spheromaks or FRCs are smaller and simpler, hence potentially more economical. Their study is uncovering some complex interaction between plasma flows and magnetic topology: e.g. flared magnetic flux tubes collimate into...

We have studied terahertz ~THz! emission from InAs and GaAs in a magnetic field, and find that the emitted radiation is produced by coupled cyclotron-plasma charge oscillations. Ultrashort pulses of THz radiation were produced at semiconductor surfaces by photoexcitation with a femtosecond Ti-sapphire laser. We recorded the integrated THz power and the THz emission spectrum as a function of mag...

Magnetic field line reconnection is still considered, by some, to be one of the most important topics in plasma physics. It has been in this category for close to 30 years and the ‘problem of reconnection’ has still not been solved. Magnetic field topologies are part and parcel of the current systems within a plasma whatever their source. Plasma currents may initially be induced or injected but...