Walter Gekelman

Last updated

Walter Gekelman
Born
Walter N. Gekelman
NationalityAmerican
Education Brooklyn College (B.S.)
Stevens Institute of Technology (Ph.D.)
Known for Large Plasma Device
Scientific career
Fields Plasma physics
Institutions UCLA
Thesis Optical Determination of the Ion and Electron Temperatures in a Barium Q Plasma  (1972)

Walter N. Gekelman is a plasma physics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), [1] and an elected fellow of the American Physical Society. [2] He is known for the development and construction of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), [3] [4] an over 20-meter long cylindrical plasma device to study fundamental plasma processes under laboratory conditions such as Alfvén waves [5] and magnetic flux ropes. [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and career

Gekelman received a B.S. in physics from Brooklyn College in 1966 and a Ph.D. in experimental plasma physics at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1972. [1]

Gekelman joined UCLA in 1974. In 1991, he constructed the original 10-meter-long LAPD to study Alfvén waves in plasmas [8] and served as the director of the facility for 15 years until he was succeeded by Troy Carter in 2016. [9] During his tenure as director, the LAPD was upgraded to a 20-meter long version in 2001, and became a designated national user facility for the study of basic plasma science, which garnered funding support from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy. [4] [10] He was also a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Plasma Science Committee and the NRC Burning Plasma Assessment Committee. [1]

Scientific outreach

Gekelman was involved in scientific outreach for high school students. [11] [8] In 1993, he led the formation of the Los Angeles Teachers Alliance Group (LAPTAG) and established a plasma laboratory for high school students to conduct research, which was subsequently published. [12] [13] [14] The laboratory is a device similar in construct to the LAPD, but smaller.

In 2002, Gekelman was interviewed by Robyn Williams on his science talk show to discuss the LAPD. [15] He also appeared in the Death Stars episode of Phil Plait's science TV documentary Bad Universe in 2010. [16]

Gekelman also collaborates with UCLA's Art Sci Center as a scientist [17] to deliver public lectures and create works of art inspired by plasma physics. [18]

Honors

In 1996, Gekelman was elected as a fellow to the American Physical Society for "a unique, original program of complete and definitive diagnostic studies of magnetic field reconnection and current disruptions in plasmas, achieving major advances and linking space and laboratory plasma physics". [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetohydrodynamics</span> Model of electrically conducting fluids

Magnetohydrodynamics is a model of electrically conducting fluids that treats all interpenetrating particle species together as a single continuous medium. It is primarily concerned with the low-frequency, large-scale, magnetic behavior in plasmas and liquid metals and has applications in numerous fields including geophysics, astrophysics, and engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannes Alfvén</span> Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and Nobel laureate

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics and electrical engineering. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of aurorae, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth's magnetic field, the terrestrial magnetosphere, and the dynamics of plasmas in the Milky Way galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetic reconnection</span> Process in plasma physics

Magnetic reconnection is a physical process occurring in electrically conducting plasmas, in which the magnetic topology is rearranged and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy, thermal energy, and particle acceleration. Magnetic reconnection involves plasma flows at a substantial fraction of the Alfvén wave speed, which is the fundamental speed for mechanical information flow in a magnetized plasma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field-reversed configuration</span> Magnetic confinement fusion reactor

A field-reversed configuration (FRC) is a type of plasma device studied as a means of producing nuclear fusion. It confines a plasma on closed magnetic field lines without a central penetration. In an FRC, the plasma has the form of a self-stable torus, similar to a smoke ring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large Plasma Device</span>

The Large Plasma Device is an experimental physics device located at UCLA. It is designed as a general purpose laboratory for experimental plasma physics research. The device began operation in 1991 and was upgraded in 2001 to its current version. The modern LAPD is operated as the primary device for a national collaborative research facility, the Basic Plasma Science Facility, which is supported by the US Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Half of the operation time of the device is available to scientists at other institutions and facilities who can compete for time through a yearly solicitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spheromak</span>

A spheromak is an arrangement of plasma formed into a toroidal shape similar to a smoke ring. The spheromak contains large internal electric currents and their associated magnetic fields arranged so the magnetohydrodynamic forces within the spheromak are nearly balanced, resulting in long-lived (microsecond) confinement times without external fields. Spheromaks belong to a type of plasma configuration referred to as the compact toroids. A spheromak can be made and sustained using magnetic flux injection, leading to a dynomak.

The Enormous Toroidal Plasma Device (ETPD) is an experimental physics device housed at the Basic Plasma Science Facility at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It previously operated as the Electric Tokamak (ET) between 1999 and 2006 and was noted for being the world's largest tokamak before being decommissioned due to the lack of support and funding. The machine was renamed to ETPD in 2009. At present, the machine is undergoing upgrades to be re-purposed into a general laboratory for experimental plasma physics research.

A double layer is a structure in a plasma consisting of two parallel layers of opposite electrical charge. The sheets of charge, which are not necessarily planar, produce localised excursions of electric potential, resulting in a relatively strong electric field between the layers and weaker but more extensive compensating fields outside, which restore the global potential. Ions and electrons within the double layer are accelerated, decelerated, or deflected by the electric field, depending on their direction of motion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liu Chen (physicist)</span> American physicist

Liu Chen is an American theoretical physicist who has made original contributions to many aspects of plasma physics. He is known for the discoveries of kinetic Alfven waves, toroidal Alfven eigenmodes, and energetic particle modes; the theories of geomagnetic pulsations, Alfven wave heating, and fishbone oscillations, and the first formulation of nonlinear gyrokinetic equations. Chen retired from University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2012, assuming the title professor emeritus of physics and astronomy.

The Spitzer resistivity is an expression describing the electrical resistance in a plasma, which was first formulated by Lyman Spitzer in 1950. The Spitzer resistivity of a plasma decreases in proportion to the electron temperature as .

James F. Drake is an American theoretical physicist who specializes in plasma physics. He is known for his studies on plasma instabilities and magnetic reconnection for which he was awarded the 2010 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics by the American Physical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akira Hasegawa</span>

Akira Hasegawa is a Japanese theoretical physicist and engineer who has worked in the U.S. and Japan. He is known for his work in the derivation of the Hasegawa–Mima equation, which describes fundamental plasma turbulence and the consequent generation of zonal flow that controls plasma diffusion. Hasegawa also made the discovery of optical solitons in glass fibers, a concept that is essential for high speed optical communications.

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Ryutov is a Russian theoretical plasma physicist.

Noah Hershkowitz was an American experimental plasma physicist. He was known for his pioneering research on the understanding of plasma sheaths, solitons and double layers in plasmas, as well as the development of the emissive probe which measures the plasma potential.

Masaaki Yamada is a Japanese plasma physicist known for his studies on magnetic reconnection.

Keith Howard Burrell is an American plasma physicist.

Troy Alan Carter is an American plasma physicist and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was co-awarded the 2002 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research for his work on driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Gurnett</span> American physicist (1940–2022)

Donald Alfred Gurnett was an American physicist and professor at the University of Iowa who specialized in plasma physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dungey</span> British space scientist

James Wynne Dungey (1923–2015) was a British space scientist who was pivotal in establishing the field of space weather and made significant contributions to the fundamental understanding of plasma physics.

Reiner Ludwig Stenzel was an American plasma physicist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was known for his experimental work in basic plasma physics, such as on whistler waves and magnetic reconnection, and had contributed to the development of various plasma probes and antennas, which included the microwave resonator (hairpin) probe. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society.

References

  1. 1 2 3 National Research Council (U.S.). Plasma 2010 Committee. (2007). Plasma science : advancing knowledge in the national interest. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. ISBN   978-0-309-10944-4. OCLC   567909228.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 "APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  3. ↑ Gekelman, W.; Pfister, H.; Lucky, Z.; Bamber, J.; Leneman, D.; Maggs, J. (1991). "Design, construction, and properties of the large plasma research device−The LAPD at UCLA". Review of Scientific Instruments. 62 (12): 2875–2883. Bibcode:1991RScI...62.2875G. doi:10.1063/1.1142175. ISSN   0034-6748.
  4. 1 2 Gekelman, W.; Pribyl, P.; Lucky, Z.; Drandell, M.; Leneman, D.; Maggs, J.; Vincena, S.; Van Compernolle, B.; Tripathi, S. K. P. (2016). "The upgraded Large Plasma Device, a machine for studying frontier basic plasma physics". Review of Scientific Instruments. 87 (2): 025105. Bibcode:2016RScI...87b5105G. doi:10.1063/1.4941079. ISSN   0034-6748. PMID   26931889.
  5. ↑ Gekelman, Walter; Vincena, Stephen; Leneman, David; Maggs, James (1997). "Laboratory experiments on shear Alfvén waves and their relationship to space plasmas". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 102 (A4): 7225–7236. doi:10.1029/96JA03683. ISSN   0148-0227.
  6. ↑ Grossman, Lisa (August 31, 2010). "Tube Full of Plasma Creates Solar Eruption in the Lab". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ Gekelman, W.; Lawrence, E.; Van Compernolle, B. (2012). "Three-dimensional reconnection involving magnetic flux ropes". The Astrophysical Journal. 753 (2): 131. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/753/2/131. ISSN   0004-637X.
  8. 1 2 Aldag, J. Matthew (March 25, 2002). "Unlocking Secrets of Plasma". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Troy Carter". www.physics.ucla.edu. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ Wertheim, Margaret (August 19, 2003). "Machines Explore Odd Behaviors of Ubiquitous Plasmas". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ Gekelman, Walter (2002). "LAPTAG—A Physics Outreach Program at UCLA". APS News. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Birge-Lee, Henry; Wise, Joe; Katz, Cami; Wolman, Ben; Baker, Bob; Marmie, Ken; Patankar, Vedang; Bridges, Gabriel; Buckley-Bonanno, Samuel (2016). "Drift waves and chaos in a LAPTAG plasma physics experiment". American Journal of Physics. 84 (2): 118–126. Bibcode:2016AmJPh..84..118G. doi:10.1119/1.4936460. ISSN   0002-9505.
  13. ↑ Echtebas, Chloe; Hwang, Roland; Shin, Jane; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Wise, Joe; Baker, Robert; Lee, Amy (2010). "Experimental Measurement of Whistler Waves at the LAPTAG high school plasma laboratory". APS. 2010: C1.046. Bibcode:2010APS..APR.C1046E.
  14. ↑ Layton, William; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick (1999). "LAPTAG High School Plasma Physics laboratory". APS. 41: GP1.10. Bibcode:1999APS..DPP.GP110L.
  15. ↑ "LAPD". ABC Radio National. April 18, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  16. ↑ Bad Universe (Documentary), Phil Plait, Tony Stephens, Tony Mulhare, Morningstar Entertainment, 2010, retrieved January 19, 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ↑ "Walter Gekelman | UCLA Art | Sci Center + Lab". artsci.ucla.edu. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Plasma: The Most Abundant State of Matter | BIOTECH+ART: HONORS 177". biotechart.artscinow.org. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.