Paradigm transition in cosmic plasma physics

Abstract

New discoveries in cosmic plasma physics are described, and their applications to solar, interstellar, galactic, and cosmological problems are discussed. The new discoveries include the existence of double layers in magnetized plasmas and in the low magnetosphere, and energy transfer by electric current in the auroral circuit. It is argued that solar flares and the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction should not be interpreted in terms of magnetic merging theories, and that electric current needs to be explicitly taken account of in understanding these phenomena. The filamentary structure of cosmic plasmas may be caused by electric currents in space, and the pinch effect may have a central role to play in the evolutionary history of interstellar clouds, stars, and solar systems. Space may have a cellular structure, with the cell walls formed by thin electric current layers. Annihilation may be the source of energy for quasars and the Hubble expansion, and the big bang cosmology may well be wrong.