Solar wind Solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma consists of mostly electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between 0.5 and 10 keV. Embedded within the solar-wind plasma is the interplanetary magnetic field. The solar wind varies in density, temperature and speed over time and over solar latitude and longitude. Its particles can escape the Sun's gravity because of their high energy resulting from the high temperature of the corona, which in turn is a result of the coronal magnetic field. At a
Plasma propulsion engine pulsed plasma thruster Pulsed inductive thrusters (PIT) also use the Lorentz force to generate thrust, but unlike the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, they do not use any electrode, preventing their erosion. Ionization and electric currents in the plasma are induced by a rapidly varying magnetic field. Electrodeless plasma thrusters use the ponderomotive force which acts on any plasma or charged particle when under the influence of a strong electromagnetic energy density gradient to accelerate both electrons and ions of the plasma in the same direction, thereby able to operate without neutralizer. Hall effect thrusters (also called stationary plasma thrusters SPT) combine a