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As another layman I find the Wikipedia article on the subject to be really good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere#Structure https://en.wikipedia.org/
by avar 10y ago
As another layman I find the Wikipedia article on the subject to be really good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere#Structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere#Structure
There's nothing inherently different about a planet's magnetic field pushing the stellar/solar wind out of its way and e.g. a boat on water pushing water out of the way. Terms like magneto(sheath|pause|tail) are just labels for different parts of the "wake".
- fsloth 10y ago"There's nothing inherently different " Yes there is. Magnetohydrodynamics are more complex than hydrodynamics because of the electromagnetic effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetohydrodynamics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetohydrodynamics Yes, there is the fluid component, but in addition to that, there are the bits coming from electromagnetics. Arising from Maxwell's "a moving charge creates a magnetic field..." and "a force is induced on a charge moving through a magnetic field "etc.
- avar 10y agoIs that really inherently different, or just a more complex manifestation of the same basic principles? I.e. Atoms repel each other because of their magnetic fields, and depending on their polarity and spin in the aggregate they can produce bigger and more complex magnetic fields, such as the ones analyzed by magnetohydrodynamics.