vibe3
May12-11, 04:54 AM
I have a question about the diamagnetic current caused by plasma pressure gradients. Various plasma physics / MHD texts state that the current due to a plasma pressure gradient in a magnetic field is given by
\mathbf{J} = \frac{\mathbf{B} \times \nabla p}{B^2}
where p = nkT
My question is, if I start with an ambient field \mathbf{B_0} and some density distribution n(\mathbf{r}), and I want to calculate this current, can I simply plug in B_0 into the equation? Because once the current is flowing, it will change the ambient field into: B = B_0 + B_1, where B_1 is some additional field due to the current.
How could one account for this and compute the current once steady state has been reached?
\mathbf{J} = \frac{\mathbf{B} \times \nabla p}{B^2}
where p = nkT
My question is, if I start with an ambient field \mathbf{B_0} and some density distribution n(\mathbf{r}), and I want to calculate this current, can I simply plug in B_0 into the equation? Because once the current is flowing, it will change the ambient field into: B = B_0 + B_1, where B_1 is some additional field due to the current.
How could one account for this and compute the current once steady state has been reached?