Fundamentals of Plasma Physics

Introduction. Charged particle motion in constant and uniform electromagnetic fields. Charged particle motion in nonuniform magnetostatic fields. Charged particle motion in time-varying electromagnetic fields. Elements of plasma kinetic theory. Average values and macroscopic variables. The equilibrium state. Macroscopic transport equations. Macroscopic equations for a conducting fluid. Plasma conductivity and diffusion. Some basic plasma phenomena. Simple applications of magnetohydrodynamics. The pinch effect. Electromagnetic waves in free space. Magnetohydrodynamic waves. Waves in cold plasmas. Waves in warm plasmas. Waves in hot isotropic plasmas. Waves in hot magnetized plasmas. Particle interactions in plasmas. The Boltzmann and the Fokker-Planck equations. Transport processes in plasmas. Appendices: Useful vector relations. Useful relations in Cartesian and in curvilinear coordinates. Physical constants (MKSA). Conversion factors for units. Some important plasma parameters. Approximate magnitudes in some typical plasmas. Index.