Abstract
With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted ‘‘basic physics,’’ both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 183-226 |
| Number of pages | 44 |
| Journal | Physics in Perspective |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 11 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- History
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
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The plasma archipelago : Plasma physics in the 1960s. / Weisel, Gary J.
In: Physics in Perspective, Vol. 19, No. 3, 11.07.2017, p. 183-226.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The plasma archipelago
T2 - Plasma physics in the 1960s
AU - Weisel, Gary J.
PY - 2017/7/11
Y1 - 2017/7/11
N2 - With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted ‘‘basic physics,’’ both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.
AB - With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted ‘‘basic physics,’’ both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.
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U2 - 10.1007/s00016-017-0205-8
DO - 10.1007/s00016-017-0205-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85023167218
VL - 19
SP - 183
EP - 226
JO - Physics in Perspective
JF - Physics in Perspective
SN - 1422-6944
IS - 3
ER -