Magnetic Turbulence Trumps Collisions to Heat Solar Wind

New research led by University of Warwick physicist Dr Kareem Osman has provided significant
insight into how the solar wind heats up when it should not. The solar wind rushes outwards from
the raging inferno that is our Sun, but from then on the wind should only get cooler as it expands
beyond our solar system since there are no particle collisions to dissipate energy. However, the
solar wind is surprisingly hotter than it should be, which has puzzled scientists for decades. Two
new research papers led by Dr Osman may have solved that puzzle.
Turbulence pervades the universe, being found in stars, stellar winds, accretion disks, galaxies,
and even the material between galaxies. It also plays a critical role in the evolution of many
laboratory plasmas, causing diminished confinement times in fusion devices. Therefore,
understanding plasma turbulence is essential to the interpretation of a large body of laboratory,
space, and astrophysical observations. The solar wind and near-Earth environment provide an
excellent laboratory for the study of turbulence, and are the only in-situ accessible astrophysical
plasmas.
The solar wind is much hotter than would be expected if it were just expanding outward from the
Sun. Turbulence is the likely source of this heating. For neutral fluids such as fast flowing water,
energy dissipation occurs through many microscopic collisions. As is the case for many
astrophysical plasmas, the near-Earth solar wind is thin and spread out, which means collisions
between particles are rare to the point that the plasma is considered collisionless. A major
outstanding problem is how, in the absence of those collisions, does plasma turbulence move
energy to small scales to heat the solar wind.
The new research led by Dr. Kareem Osman at the University of Warwick's Centre for Fusion,
Space and Astrophysics has revealed how turbulence heats the solar wind. He says:
"Turbulence stretches and bends magnetic field lines, and often two oppositely directed field
lines can come together to form a current sheet. These current sheets, which are distributed
randomly in space, could be sites where the magnetic field snaps and reconnects transferring
energy to particle heating. There are also many more ways that current sheets can heat and
accelerate the plasma."
The researchers set thresholds in the strength of these current sheets, to determine how proton
temperature was related to current sheet strength. The results show convincingly that these
current sheets are associated with temperature enhancements, and that the strongest are also the
hottest. While each current sheet does not provide a lot of heating, collectively the current sheets
account for 50% of the solar wind internal energy despite only representing 19% of all the solar
wind data. Even more striking, the strongest current sheets which only make up 2% of the solar
wind were found to be responsible for 11% of the internal energy of the system.
The researchers also found that current sheets heat the solar wind in a very interesting manner;
the heating is not equal in all directions.
This temperature anisotropy can drive plasma instabilities and the strongest current sheets where
preferentially found in plasma that is unstable to particular types of these instabilities called
'firehose' and 'mirror'.
Nombre:_________________________________
C.I:______________________ Sección:_______
Fecha:

Inglés I. Actividad Práctica (Repaso General)

Lea el texto: “Magnetic Turbulence Trumps Collisions to Heat Solar Wind” y realice las
siguientes actividades.
I.Traduzca al Español las siguientes frases verbales

Frase verbal Español

P1 L1 has provided
P1 L2 should not
P1 L3 should only get
P1 L6 may have solved
P3 L1would be expected
P5 L4 does not provide
P5 L7 were found to be

II. Coloque en el espacio en blanco el significado de la palabra en Español.

English Spanish English Spanish
Trumps likely
rushes outstanding
outwards randomly
beyond thresholds
puzzled enhancements
pervades 'firehose' and 'mirror'

III.Escriba en Español la palabra, frase o idea que sustituyen a los siguientes Referentes Textuales.

1. P1 L2 it _________________________________________________________
2. P1 L5 which _____________________________________________________
3. P2 L2 It _________________________________________________________
4. P4 L2 He ________________________________________________________
5. P4 L5 where _____________________________________________________
6. P5 L2, 3 These current sheets___________________________________________
IV.Escriba en Español las ideas relacionadas por las siguientes Señales de Transición
1. P1 L3, 4 but, as, since
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2. P2 L4 Therefore
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3. P3 L2 such as
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4. P5 L4 While
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5. P5 L6 Even more
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V. Responda las siguientes preguntas en Español, según el texto dado.
1. Explain what has puzzled scientist for decades.
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2. Where is turbulence found?

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3. Why is the understanding of plasma turbulence important?

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4. Why astrophysical plasma is considered collisionless?

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5. How does turbulence heat the solar wind?

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New Bionic Eye Could Restore Sight
Researchers working for the Boston Retinal Implant Project have been developing a bionic eye
implant that could restore the eye sight of people who suffer from age-related blindness.
Although the bionic eye will only help individuals that were born with functional eyesight, the
implant is expected to considerably improve their lives.

The implant is based on a small chip that is surgically implanted behind the retina, at the back of
the eyeball. An ultra-thin wire strengthens the damaged optic nerve; its purpose is to transmit
light and images to the brain’s vision system, where it is normally processed. Other than the
implanted chip and wire, most of the device sits outside the eye. The users would need to wear
special eye glasses containing a tiny battery-powered camera and a transmitter, which would send
images to the chip implanted behind the retina. The new device is expected to be quite durable,
since the chip is enclosed in a titanium casing, making it both water-proof and corrosion-proof.
The researchers estimate that the device will last for at least 10 years inside the eye.

The scientists explain that the bionic eye will be affective for individuals who once had sight,
since their brain knows how to process visual information. The unfortunate people who were
born blind do not have the neurological capability to process the data received via the wire.
Furthermore, the optic nerve must be at least partly functional. Otherwise, the data will not be
fully processed. For many individuals that were born blind, this is a problem as well, since their
optic nerve has never been used. However, most of these individuals have a natural compensation
mechanism, in the form of enhanced senses, such as hearing and touch.

Although the device will not be able to restore the eye sight of the entire blind community,
researchers are certain many people will benefit from the technology. For instance, age-related
macular generation is the leading cause of blindness in the industrialized world, with about 2
million Americans currently suffering from the condition. The new technology will hopefully
assist people suffering from this condition, and individuals suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (a
genetic condition), but will not help glaucoma patients.

The researchers note the device has some limitations, and it will not restore perfect vision.
However, they are sure it will give people the advantage of having a general sense of their
surroundings. Hopefully, the technology may enable people to recognize faces and facial
expressions. “The thing is to significantly improve the quality of life for blind patients,” said
Joseph Rizzo of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, who has co-directed the project
with MIT‘s John Wyatt since 1988.
Nombre:_________________________________
C.I:______________________ Sección:_______
Fecha:

Inglés I. Actividad Práctica (Repaso General)

Lea el texto: “New Bionic Eye Could Restore Sight” y realice las actividades señaladas.
I. Coloque en el espacio en blanco el significado de la palabra en Español.

English Spanish English Spanish

Restore ultra-thin
Sight battery-powered
blindness chip
functional eyesight casing
considerably enhanced

II. Traduzca al Español las siguientes frases verbales

Frase verbal Español
P1 L1 have been developing
P1 L2 could restore
P1 L 4 is expected
P2 L5 would need
P2 L9 will last
P3 L3 were born
P3 L4 must be
P3 L5 will not be fully processed
P3 L6 has never been used
P5 L3 may enable

III.Proporcione el significado en Español de las siguientes Formas Ing y las funciones según el
contexto dado.
Significado Función
1. P1.L2 working ____________________ _______________________
2. P1.L1 developing _____________________ _______________________
3. P2.L8 making _____________________ _______________________
4. P3.L8 hearing ___________________ _______________________
5. P4.L3 leading ____________________ _______________________
6. P5.L2 having ____________________ _______________________

IV.Escriba en Español la palabra, frase o idea que sustituyen a los siguientes Referentes Textuales.
1. P2 L5 which _____________________________________________________
2. P3 L2 their ______________________________________________________
3. P3 L2 who ______________________________________________________
4. P3 L5 this _______________________________________________________
5. P4 L5 this condition _______________________________________________
V. Escriba en Español las ideas relacionadas por las siguientes Señales de Transición
1. P1 L3 Although
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2. P3 L6, 7 However, such as
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3. P4 L1 Although
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4. P5 L1 and
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5. P5 L3 Hopefully
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VI. Responda las siguientes preguntas en Español, según el texto dado.
1. Explain how the New Bionic Eye works.
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______________________________________________________________________________

2. Why is the Bionic Eye expected to last?

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3. Why will the Bionic Eye not be effective for people who were born blind?

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4. What are some of the limitations of the Bionic Eye?

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