In plasma physics, a lower hybrid oscillation is a longitudinal oscillation of ions and electrons in a magnetized plasma. The direction of propagation must be very nearly perpendicular to the stationary magnetic field, within about radians. Otherwise the electrons can move along the field lines fast enough to shield the oscillations in potential. The frequency of oscillation is
where Ωi is the ion cyclotron frequency, Ωe is the electron cyclotron frequency and ωpi is the ion plasma frequency. This is the lower hybrid frequency, so called because it is a "hybrid", or mixture, of two frequencies. There are also an upper hybrid frequency and upper hybrid oscillation.
The lower hybrid oscillation is unusual in that the ion and electron masses play an equally important role. This mode is relatively unimportant in practice because the necessary precise orientation relative to the magnetic field is seldom achieved. Exceptions are the use of lower hybrid waves to heat and drive current in fusion plasmas, and the lower hybrid drift instability, which was thought to be an important determinant of transport in the Field-Reversed Configuration (but was not found experimentally).
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In plasma physics, waves in plasmas are an interconnected set of particles and fields which propagate in a periodically repeating fashion. A plasma is a quasineutral, electrically conductive fluid. In the simplest case, it is composed of electrons and a single species of positive ions, but it may also contain multiple ion species including negative ions as well as neutral particles. Due to its electrical conductivity, a plasma couples to electric and magnetic fields. This complex of particles and fields supports a wide variety of wave phenomena.
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Learn about plasma applications from nuclear fusion powering the sun, to making integrated circuits, to generating electricity.
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