Magnetic reconnection is the process whereby magnetic field lines from different magnetic domains are spliced to one another, changing the overall topology of a magnetic field. It is a violation of an approximate conservation law in plasma physics, and can concentrate mechanical or magnetic energy in both space and time. Solar flares, the largest explosions in the solar system, are caused by reconnection of large systems of magnetic flux on the Sun, releasing in minutes energy that is stored in the magnetic field over a period of weeks to years. Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere is responsible for the aurora, and it is important to the science of controlled nuclear fusion because it is one mechanism preventing magnetic confinement of the fusion fuel. A solar flare is a violent explosion in the Suns atmosphere with an energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale): The Sun, the eight planets, the asteroid belt containing the dwarf planet Ceres, outermost there is the dwarf planet Pluto (the dwarf planet Eris not shown), and a comet. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... A magnetosphere is the region around an astronomical object in which phenomena are dominated or organized by its magnetic field. ... Aurora borealis Aurora borealis The aurora is a bright glow observed in the night sky, usually in the polar zone. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ... The magnetic fusion energy (MFE) program seeks to establish the conditions to sustain a nuclear fusion reaction in a plasma that is contained by magnetic fields to allow the successful production of fusion power. ...

In an electrically conductive fluid or plasma, magnetic field lines are grouped into 'domains' - bundles of field lines that connect from a particular place to another particular place, and that are topologically distinct from other field lines nearby. This topology is approximately preserved even when the magnetic field itself is strongly distorted by the presence of variable currents or motion of magnetic sources, because effects that might otherwise change the magnetic topology instead induce eddy currents in the plasma; the eddy currents have the effect of canceling out the topological change. A subset of the phases of matter, fluids include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids. ... A Plasma lamp, illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of a plasma, including filamentation A solar coronal mass ejection blasts plasma throughout the solar system. ... An eddy current is a phenomenon caused by a moving magnetic field intersecting a conductor or vice-versa. ...

Magnetic Reconnection: This view is a cross-section through four magnetic domains undergoing separator reconnection. Two separatrices divide space into four magnetic domains with a separator at the center of the figure. Field lines (and associated plasma) flow inward from above and below the separator, reconnect, and spring outward horizontally. A current sheet (as shown) may be present but is not required for reconnection to occur. This process is not well understood: once started, it proceeds many orders of magnitude faster than predicted by calculation from first principles.

The most common type of magnetic reconnection is separator reconnection, in which four separate magnetic domains exchange magnetic field lines. Domains in a magnetic plasma are separated by separatrix surfaces: curved surfaces in space that divide different bundles of flux. A separatrix surface may be compared to the fascia that separate muscles in an organism: field lines on one side of the separatrix all terminate at a particular magnetic pole, while field lines on the other side all terminate at a different pole of similar sign. Since each field line generally begins at a north magnetic pole and ends at a south magnetic pole, the most general way of dividing simple flux systems involves four domains separated by two separatrices: one separatrix surface divides the flux into two bundles, each of which shares a south pole, and the other separatrix surface divides the flux into two bundles, each of which shares a north pole. The intersection of the separatrices forms a separator, a single line that is at the boundary of the four separate domains. In separator reconnection, field lines enter the separator from two of the domains, and are spliced one to the other, exiting the separator in the other two domains (see the figure). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (959x719, 22 KB)fixed errors in the schematic; changed to (hopefully-better-compressed) .PNG format The file was originally created as a JPG, and a caption was removed by PAR. Since the filename has changed, its now a new page. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (959x719, 22 KB)fixed errors in the schematic; changed to (hopefully-better-compressed) .PNG format The file was originally created as a JPG, and a caption was removed by PAR. Since the filename has changed, its now a new page. ... Fascia is specialized connective tissue layer which surrounds muscles, bones, and joints, providing support and protection and giving structure to the body. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Separatrices often (but not always) coincide with current sheets that mark a sudden change in the direction of the magnetic field, but a current sheet is not necessary to the formation of a separatrix, or to magnetic reconnection. As a limiting case, refrigerator magnets moved near one another in Earth's atmosphere cause nearly continuous magnetic reconnection, although no electrical current flows through the air (it is an insulator). A current sheet is an electrical current that is confined to a surface, rather than being spread through a volume of space. ... A refrigerator magnet (or fridge magnet) is a piece of ornament attached to a magnet that is used to decorate refrigerator doors. ... AIR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: The Annals of Improbable Research, a monthly magazine devoted to scientific humour All India Radio - Indias Government Radio service AIR, a popular electronica band from France. ... // Definition An Insulator is a material or object which resists the flow of electric charge. ...

According to simple resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) theory, reconnection happens because the plasma's electrical resistivity near the boundary layer opposes the currents necessary to sustain the change in the magnetic field. The need for such a current can be seen from one of Maxwell's equations, Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) (magnetofluiddynamics or hydromagnetics), is the academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. ... Electrical resistivity (also known as specific electrical resistance) is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. ... In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge. ... Maxwells equations (sometimes called the Maxwell equations) are the set of four equations, attributed to James Clerk Maxwell, that describe the behavior of both the electric and magnetic fields, as well as their interactions with matter. ...

The resistivity of the current layer allows magnetic flux from either side to diffuse through the current layer, cancelling out flux from the other side of the boundary. When this happens, the plasma is pulled out by magnetic tension along the direction of the magnetic field lines. The resulting drop in pressure pulls more plasma and magnetic flux into the central region, yielding a self-sustaining process. Magnetic flux, is a measure of quantity of magnetism, taking account of the strength and the extent of a magnetic field. ... The magnetic tension force is a tension that exists along magnetic field lines. ...

A current problem in plasma physics is that observed reconnection happens much faster than predicted by MHD: solar flares, for example, proceed 13-14 orders of magnitude faster than a naive calculation would suggest, and several orders of magnitude faster than current theoretical models that include turbulence and kinetic effects. There are two competing theories to explain the discrepancy. One posits that the electromagnetic turbulence in the boundary layer is sufficiently strong to scatter electrons, raising the plasma's local resistivity. This would allow the magnetic flux to diffuse faster. The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ... In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic property changes. ...

A second explanation, from Hall MHD states that the ions decouple from that magnetic field at a distance comparable to the ion skin depth, . The electrons are then accelerated to very high speeds by Whistler waves. Because the ions can move through a wider "bottleneck" near the current layer and because the electrons are moving much faster in Hall MHD than in standard MHD, reconnection may proceed more quickly. Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) (magnetofluiddynamics or hydromagnetics), is the academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. ... ... An ion is an atom or group of atoms that normally are electrically neutral and achieve their status as an ion by loss (or addition) of an electron(s). ... Skin depth is a geophysical term used in seismic exploration. ... Properties The electron (also called negatron, commonly represented as e−) is a subatomic particle. ... An electromagnetic electron wave is a wave in a plasma which has a magnetic field component and in which primarily the electrons oscillate. ... Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) (magnetofluiddynamics or hydromagnetics), is the academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. ...