Physics of Space Weather

Subatomic particles zipping around through magnetized plasma - does that sound like physics to you? The tools of the science of physics are essential ingredients for an understanding of space weather phenomena. This page provides links to physics fundamentals relevant to space weather.
This is an artist's conception of the
  Earth and the inner and outer <a
  href="/glossary/radiation_belts.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">radiation belts</a> that surround it. The Earth's radiation belts are just one part of
  the system called the <a
  href="/earth/Magnetosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">magnetosphere</a>. The radiation belts of the Earth are made up of <a
  href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/electron.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">electrons</a>,
<a
  href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/proton.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">protons</a>
  and heavier atomic ions. These particles get trapped in the <a
  href="/earth/Magnetosphere/earth_magnetic_field.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">magnetic field of the Earth</a>. 
These belts were <a
  href="/earth/Magnetosphere/radiation_belts_discovery.html&edu=elem&dev=1/windows.html">discovered</a> by James Van Allen in 1958, and so they are known as Van Allen
  Belts.<p><small><em>Courtesy of Windows to the Universe</em></small></p>

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