Newtonian Development of the Dynamical Properties of Ionized Gases of Low Density

Abstract

The macroscopic dynamical equations of a tenuous ionized gas in a magnetic field are developed by averaging over the individual ion and electron motions, which do not necessarily possess an isotropic distribution. It is shown that the principal motion of the gas is related to the magnetic field by the usual hydromagnetic equations, as developed for conducting liquids and dense gases; the anisotropy of the individual particle motions shows up primarily as a coefficient multiplying the pondermotive force exerted by the magnetic field on the plasma. The results reduce properly to the earlier work of Schlüter, Cowling, and Spitzer for isotropic pressure, and are in agreement with the recent developments from the Boltzmann equation. It is pointed out that the magnetic lines of force are permanently connected and move in the frame of reference of the electric drift. It is shown that near static equilibrium, when the principal motions vanish, there remain small macroscopic drift motions of the gas in the field inhomogeneities.