Speed of Sound in Plasma
Description
The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium.
The speed of sound in a plasma for the common case that the electrons are hotter than the ions (but not too much hotter) is given here.
In contrast to a gas, the pressure and the density are provided by separate species, the pressure by the electrons and the density by the ions. The two are coupled through a fluctuating electric field.
Variables
cs | speed of sound in plasma (m/s) |
γ | adiabatic index (dimensionless) |
Z | charge state (dimensionless) |
k | Boltzmann constant |
Te | electron temperature (K) |
mi | ion mass (kg) |