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The Solar Wind.pdf

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• <strong>The</strong> solar wind exists because the Sun maintains a2x10 6 K corona as its outer most atmosphere.• <strong>The</strong> Sun’s atmosphere “boils off” into space and isaccelerated to high velocities (> 400 km s -1 ).• Parker [1958] proposed that the solar wind was theresult of the high temperature corona anddeveloped a hydrodynamic model to support hisidea. Based on this Dessler developed a simplegravitational nozzle which demonstrates the basicphysics.– Simplifying assumptions:1. <strong>The</strong> solar wind can be treated as an ideal gas.2. <strong>The</strong> solar wind flows radially from the Sun.3. Acceleration due to electromagnetic fields is negligible.4. <strong>The</strong> solution is time stationary (i.e. the time scale forsolar wind changes is long compared to the time scalefor solar wind generation).

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