Introduction to Plasma Physics (illustrated ed)

Designed as a textbook for both graduate and advanced undergraduate students, Introduction to Plasma Physics is organized into six Units which lead the reader comprehensively through the fundamentals of modern plasma physics. Units on single-particle motion, plasmas as fluids and collisional processes in plasmas lay the groundwork for the understanding of the subject. The text then moves on to apply this understanding to waves and instabilities in a fluid plasma, and finally introduces the kinetic theory of plasmas and re-examines waves and instabilities from the kinetic viewpoint.

Many problems of varying levels of difficulty complement the book. In addition, two computer programs (included in both Macintosh and IBM formats) allow the student to examine and experiment with theoretical models of complex plasma phenomena -- making this an invaluable modern teaching resource.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has long been home to some of the most exciting and important developments in plasma physics and, through its association with Princeton University, sponsors a highly regarded undergraduate and graduate educational program in this field. Now two of the leading figures in plasma physics at Princeton, Robert J. Goldston and Paul H. Rutherford, have collaborated to write Introduction to Plasma Physics, a book based on their introductory lecture course that is sure to become a standard text for many years to come.