Magnetic sail significant in the long term. In typical magnetic sail designs, the magnetic field is generated by a loop of superconducting wire. Because loops of current-carrying conductors tend to be forced outwards towards a circular shape by their own magnetic field, the sail could be deployed simply by unspooling the conductor and applying a current through it. The solar wind is a continuous stream of plasma that flows outwards from the Sun: near the Earth's orbit, it contains several million protons and electrons per cubic meter and flows at . The magnetic sail introduces a magnetic field into this plasma flow
Anisothermal plasma Anisothermal plasma An Anisothermal plasma is a plasma which thermal state can be approximated by more than one temperature for the different degrees of freedom of the plasma. The degrees of freedom refer to translation (kinetic energy), rotation, vibration of each particle type. Examples of anisothermal plasmas can be found among low-pressure plasmas that are excited by high frequency electric fields, see frequency classification of plasmas. They generally exhibit hot electrons that are powered by the alternating electric field, and a neutral and ion component, which is significantly colder due the low efficiency of the energy transfer between light electrons