Studying The Effect of A Blocking Disk on Plasma Turbulence and Magnetic Field Lines

Plasma, in the simplest of terms, is a superheated gas which gets so hot that electrons are separated from atoms, forming an electrically charged gas of negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. Much of the universe is made up of plasma, and this state of matter generally behaves in a chaotic manner called turbulence. Plasma turbulence as a concept is still not yet widely understood, so our experiment seeks to understand how plasma behaves when there is an obstruction placed in front of it. The sun, for example, is composed of plasma, and large gusts of solar winds can extend far past the surface of the sun, carrying plasma to the surface of the moon and beyond. We will model this phenomenon in our laboratory by placing a 3 inch x 3 inch ceramic Macor® tile in front of the plasma gun within the BMX plasma machine. Since ceramic has no impact on magnetic fields (like the Moon) and can withstand low pressure environments, it is ideal for our experimentation purposes. We predict that, due to the obstruction, there will be no plasma nor magnetic field directly behind the ceramic tile. In a similar vein, we expect both the plasma and magnetic field lines will reconnect some distance away from the obstruction, however the nature of this collision and the state of the turbulence at this collision is still untested. We hope our experiment will provide the scientific community with a greater understanding of not only how certain obstructions can affect magnetic field lines and the path of plasma, but also enrich the scientific understanding of plasma turbulence as a whole.