Solar wind
hideThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles—a plasma—ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed with the passage of time. These particles are able to escape the sun's gravity, in part because of the high temperature of the corona, but also because of high kinetic energy that particles gain through a process that is not well-understood.
The solar wind creates the Heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium surrounding the solar system. Other phenomena include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the aurorae such as the Northern Lights, and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the sun.
For more information about Solar wind, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with solar wind
The Stars My Destination
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
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The Voyager spacecraft are now in the outermost layer of the heliosphere, traveling toward interstellar space - the first man-made spacecraft to travel such a vast distance from Earth.
A Tale of Planetary Woe (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
5
Once upon a time — roughly four billion years ago — Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed ...
NJIT receives funding to improve Big Bear Telescope, study solar energy
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
1
NJIT researchers are at work on many scientific and technological frontiers. The National Science Foundation has recently provided support that totals nearly $4.3 million for the diverse efforts of the following ...
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Taiwan plans massive growth in solar energy
12 hours ago |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
Taiwan plans to boost its use of solar panels by a factor of 200 over the next decade and a half in an effort to increase clean energy, a ranking official said Friday.
Californians -- and their cell phones -- will help computer scientists monitor air pollution
Technology / Computer Sciences
12 hours ago |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
You want to go for a run, but you don't want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors ...
China solar panel makers see boost from Copenhagen
Dec 03, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
2
In Trina Solar's brilliant white factory in eastern China, masked workers in lab coats turn silicon wafers into solar power cells capable of harnessing the sun's clean and limitless energy.
Climate change in Kuwait Bay
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 30, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (13) |
1
Since 1985, seawater temperature in Kuwait Bay, northern Arabian Gulf, has increased on average 0.6°C per decade. This is about three times faster than the global average rate reported by the Intergovernmental ...
NREL Uncovers Clean Energy Leaders State by State
Nov 24, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- That California and Texas still lead the United States in generating renewable energy probably is no surprise. But, NREL's 2009 State of the States report shows that several smaller states ...
Harnessing the power of salt, Norway tries osmotic power
Nov 23, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
4
After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.
Is global warming unstoppable?
Nov 23, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (55) |
81
In a provocative new study, a University of Utah scientist argues that rising carbon dioxide emissions - the major cause of global warming - cannot be stabilized unless the world's economy collapses or society builds the ...
Cassini's Big Sky: The View from the Center of Our Solar System
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- When NASA's Cassini spacecraft began orbiting Saturn five years ago, a dozen highly-tuned science instruments set to work surveying, sniffing, analyzing and scrutinizing the Saturnian system.
Liquid battery big enough for the electric grid?
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- There's one major drawback to most proposed renewable-energy sources: their variability. The sun doesn't shine at night, the wind doesn’t always blow, and tides, waves and currents fluctuate. ...
Battery Research Aims To Store Renewable Energy
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (13) |
6
The biggest chemical battery in the United States is located near Interstate 90 in the small town of Luverne, Minn. The 80 ton device -- the size of two tractor-trailers stacked on top of each other -- stores ...
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