popular plasma book?

[meemoe_uk]

Anyone know of a popular plasma book for the layman?

Funny, any bookshop I go to has a science section with a several books on popular accounts of quantum physics, relativity, history of science, a couple on chemistry & history of, astrophysics, string theory, evolution, practical science.

But none on plasma.

How can this be true? Plasma scientists are often starved of research funds. Surely one of them in the last 50 years has had time to write a popular book. Yet all I get on Amazon is >£50 academic books for graduates.

We need a book. Cultivate a general interest in plasma with a great plasma book equivalent to QED by Feynman, Schrodingers cat by J Gribbin or even a brief history of time. Writing one would be time well spent ethically, regardless of cash profit, which by the way would likely also be worth while.

[zapkitty]

(forum links aren’t working at the moment , so you’ll have to copy and paste links)

This is probably a lot heavier than what you have in mind but over at talk-polywell…

http://www.talk-polywell.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5391

… there’s a fusion text that just came up, Fusion Physics, about plasma physics and nuclear fusion:

“This publication is a comprehensive reference for graduate students and an invaluable guide for more experienced researchers.”

http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/8879/Fusion-Physics

[meemoe_uk]

Thanks I’ve downloaded it for personal use.

But this is an example of what I’m saying, there’s no popular account of plasma physics, only academic texts.
Why don’t you write one zapkitty?

🙂

[Ivy Matt]

I don’t have any personal recommendations, but a search turned up the following:

[em]The Plasma Universe[/em], Curt Suplee (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

It is specifically intended for the layman, but I haven’t read it myself, and couldn’t say how it compares to the books you mentioned.

I also found the following very recent book, which is intended for undergraduates and graduates:

[em]Plasmas: The First State of Matter[/em], Vinod Krishan (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

It looks like it might be interesting, but perhaps a bit advanced for the layman.

[meemoe_uk]

That 1st book is out of print, the 2nd one goes on about the big bang and the early universe, so that doesn’t count either.

[ThePolywellGuy]

“The Physics of fully ionized gases” by Lyman J Spitzer is pretty basic, and a good way to start.

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