Plasma physics has matured rapidly as a discipline, and now touches on many different research areas, including manufacturing processes. This collection of fundamental formulae and definitions in plasma physics is vital to anyone with an interest in plasmas or ionized gases, whether in physics, astronomy or engineering. Both theorists and experimentalists will find this book useful, as it incorporates the latest results and findings. The text treats astrophysical plasmas, fusion plasmas, industrial plasmas and low temperature plasmas as aspects of the same discipline - a unique approach made possible by the abbreviated nature of a formulary.

Plasmaphysik hat sich in den letzen Jahren rapide entwickelt und Einfluss auf verschiedene andere Forschungsgebiete in Physik, Chemie und Astrophysik, aber auch in der industriellen Praxis gewonnen. An all jene, die sich mit Plasmen oder ionisierten Gasen beschäftigen, wendet sich diese Nachschlagewerk: Es bietet eine kompakte, übersichtliche Zusammenstellung grundlegender Formeln und Definitionen, illustriert durch Tabellen und Abbildungen. Auf langwierige Ableitungen wird verzichtet; ein mathematischer Anhang vermittelt die wichtigsten verwendeten Methoden. Ein Literaturverzeichnis auf dem neuesten Stand gibt Anregungen zum tieferen Eindringen in die Materie. Alle Aspekte der Plasmaphysik werden erfasst, inklusive Fusionsplasma - ein unverzichtbares Nachschlagewerk für Physiker, Astrophysiker und Ingenieure.

The NRL Plasma Formulary originated more than 25 years ago and has been revised several times since.

TO THE SECOND EDITION In the nine years since this book was first written, rapid progress has been made scientifically in nuclear fusion, space physics, and nonlinear plasma theory. At the same time, the energy shortage on the one hand and the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn on the other have increased the national awareness of the important applications of plasma physics to energy production and to the understanding of our space environment. In magnetic confinement fusion, this period has seen the attainment 13 of a Lawson number nTE of 2 x 10 cm -3 sec in the Alcator tokamaks at MIT; neutral-beam heating of the PL T tokamak at Princeton to KTi = 6. 5 keV; increase of average ß to 3%-5% in tokamaks at Oak Ridge and General Atomic; and the stabilization of mirror-confined plasmas at Livermore, together with injection of ion current to near field-reversal conditions in the 2XIIß device. Invention of the tandem mirror has given magnetic confinement a new and exciting dimension. New ideas have emerged, such as the compact torus, surface-field devices, and the EßT mirror-torus hybrid, and some old ideas, such as the stellarator and the reversed-field pinch, have been revived. Radiofrequency heat ing has become a new star with its promise of dc current drive. Perhaps most importantly, great progress has been made in the understanding of the MHD behavior of toroidal plasmas: tearing modes, magnetic Vll Vlll islands, and disruptions.