Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A 2d Finite Element/1d Fourier Solution To The Fokker-Planck Equation, Joseph Andrew Spencer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is a gas in which a significant portion of the atoms are ionized. It is estimated that more than 99% of the material in the visible universe is in the plasma state. The process that stars, including our sun, combine atomic nuclei and produce large amounts of energy is called thermonuclear fusion. It is anticipated future energy demands will be met by large terrestrial devices harnessing the energy of nuclear fusion. A gas hot enough to produce the number of atomic collisions needed for fusion is necessarily in the plasma state. Therefore, plasmas are …