This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the physical phenomena that result from the interaction of the sun and the planets - often termed space weather. Physics of the Space Environment explores the basic processes in the Sun, in the interplanetary medium, in the near-Earth space, and down into the atmosphere. The first part of the book summarizes fundamental elements of transport theory relevant for the atmosphere, ionosphere and the magnetosphere. This theory is then applied to physical phenomena in the space environment. The fundamental physical processes are emphasized throughout, and basic concepts and methods are derived from first principles. This book is unique in its balanced treatment of space plasma and aeronomical phenomena. Students and researchers with a basic mathematics and physics background will find this book invaluable in the study of phenomena in the space environment.
Gaskinetic Theory is an introductory text on the molecular theory of gases and on modern transport theory. It is suitable for upper division undergraduates in physics and first year graduate students in aerospace engineering, upper atmospheric science and space research. The first part introduces basic concepts, including the distribution function, classical theory of specific heats, binary collisions, mean free path, and reaction rates. Transport theory is used to express coefficients such as viscosity and heat conductivity in terms of molecular properties. The second part of the book covers advanced transport theory. Generalised transport equations are derived from the Boltzmann equation. The Chapman–Enskog and the Grad methods are discussed to obtain higher order transport equations for low density gases. The aerodynamics of solid bodies is explored and the book concludes with the kinetic description of shock waves.
