Magnetic reconnection refers to the reconfiguration of magnetic field geometry. It plays an elemental role in the rapid release of magnetic energy and its conversion to other forms of energy in ...

New research led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has confirmed decades-old theoretical models of magnetic reconnection, the process that releases stored magnetic energy to drive solar flares, ...

For propulsion systems, Ebrahimi is particularly interested in one type of interaction called magnetic reconnection, which is where magnetic fields in highly charged plasmas restructure themselves to ...

Using measurements of the four ESA’s Cluster satellites, a study published this week in Nature Physics shows pioneering experimental evidence of magnetic reconnection also in turbulent ‘plasma’ around ...

Fukuoka, Japan—Using twelve high-powered lasers, researchers recreated small solar flares in order to study the mechanisms behind a fundamental astronomical phenomenon known as a magnetic reconnection ...

New simulations help to clarify the physics behind a recent discovery made by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission spacecraft. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center In magnetic reconnection, ...

Beyond Earth’s atmosphere are swirling clouds of energized particles — ions and electrons — that emanate from the sun. This “solar wind” buffets the magnetosphere, the magnetic force field that ...

The space environment around Earth is characterized by interactions between Earth's magnetic field and nearby plasma. A key physical process in these interactions is magnetic reconnection, in which ...

In just minutes, a flare on the Sun can release enough energy to power the whole world for 20,000 years. An explosive process called magnetic reconnection triggers these solar flares and scientists ...