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Physicists find Clue to Formation of Magnetic Fields around Stars and Galaxies

PPPL physicists find clue to formation of magnetic fields around stars and galaxies

Coronal loops on the sun that are linked to magnetic fields. Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-11-physicists-clue-formation-magnetic-fields.html#jCp

Small magnetic perturbations can combine to form large-scale magnetic fields just like those found throughout the universe. Squire and Bhattacharjee at PPPL analyzed the behavior of dynamos, which occur when an electrically charged fluid like plasma swirls in a way that creates and then amplifies a magnetic field. Scientists have known that plasma turbulence can create lots of small magnetic fields, but the mechanism by which those fields could produce a single large field is elusive.

The puzzle consists of the seeming unlikelihood of small disturbances coming together to form something large and o...

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