Pursuing Plasma Cosmology Research

[squeej23]

Hello All,

I'm currently a senior electrical engineer at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA, USA. I have been intrigued by the ideas and supporting evidence for plasma cosmology for perhaps a year. As such, I have been seriously considered pursuing plasma cosmology research once I graduate. However, in all honesty, I have no idea how to go about such an endeavor. Using the internet to find articles and snip-its of information is exciting and fun, but I would like to become more involved and influential in the field.

If anyone could help point me in the right direction (whether it be graduate programs, research opportunities, or methods for lone research), I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,

Squeej

[Sparks]

Well, if you're a senior electrical engineer, you probably already understand more about astrophysics than astrophysicists do, you just don't realise it yet

DVD
http://www.plasmacosmology.net

[pln2bz]

Be aware that it's not an easy question to answer. The fundamental problem is that there is clearly a widespread rejection of the importance of E&M within cosmology. If you were for instance to go an astrophysical route, you'd likely have to spend the entire duration of your education concealing your interest in plasma-oriented cosmology. On the other hand, if you go the plasma route, you will eventually run into difficulty being recognized as an authority on cosmology.

What I recommend is that you think hard about your specific interest and develop a detailed strategy for pursuing it. For instance, the people here should be able to supply you with a short list of people who are publishing papers that support plasma cosmology. You would probably have difficulty finding these people yourself. In particular, you can possibly locate some safe havens by identifying the "descendants" of Hannes Alfven. It appears that many students studied under him.

Alternatively, if you do an astrophysical paper search on "elephant trunks", you'll find a whole host of interesting papers that indirectly relate to plasma cosmology. This would be another interesting route. Track down cutting edge papers that offer confirmation for the Electric Universe, and strike up a conversation with those paper authors.

I came to realize over time that my true interest in E&M was more related to how the universe works than in product development (I graduated as a computer engineer). And so, for myself, it made most sense to study various theories related to the quantum domain that are compatible with the Electric Universe. This is for the most part a very lonely and fringe track. The university system's infatuation with quantum mechanics means that there really is no official track there for developing strong understanding in that area.

Another good idea is to identify the prominent plasma laboratories, and develop a strategy that puts you into one of them. For instance, you could possibly ask Anthony Peratt about ideas on how one would go about working at the z-machine. I myself have personally harbored an interest in trying to start up an Electric Universe laboratory. There are many experiments that relate to the Electric Universe that could generate dramatic and groundbreaking results. As you come to understand the EU better, these experiments will make themselves known. Of course, the funds do not currently exist to do these experiments, and so they languish. The ideal situation is to end up at a medium-sized laboratory and to have some control over the experimentation going on there. That would put you in an extremely unique situation to help out with the Electric Universe and plasma cosmology. How one achieves that, however, is not clear at all.

Many people clearly decide to remain outside of the university and corporate systems. What you have to realize is that you will be worked like crazy in both situations. So, many EE's (I know many personally) find it virtually impossible to pursue the EU in their free time because they are completely drained by the time they get home in the evenings. Keep this in the back of your mind when formulating a plan. It cannot be ignored.

[iantresman]

If anyone could help point me in the right direction (whether it be graduate programs, research opportunities, or methods for lone research), I would greatly appreciate it.

Try the Alfvén Laboratory at the School of Electrical Engineering, at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. It includes a department on Space and Plasma Physics.

They "offer courses for MSc students, MSc thesis projects, a Master's Programme in Electrophysics and a PhD programme in Space and Plasma Physics.". Unfortunately, you may need to be familiar with Swedish.

[Solar]

Plasma Science has a "Resources Page"

Perspective on Plasma does as well and

Plasma on the Internet has a huge international list of plasma related institutions by country.

[MGmirkin]

If anyone could help point me in the right direction (whether it be graduate programs, research opportunities, or methods for lone research), I would greatly appreciate it.

Try the Alfvén Laboratory at the School of Electrical Engineering, at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. It includes a department on Space and Plasma Physics.

They "offer courses for MSc students, MSc thesis projects, a Master's Programme in Electrophysics and a PhD programme in Space and Plasma Physics.". Unfortunately, you may need to be familiar with Swedish.

Good stuff!

Plasma Science has a "Resources Page"

Perspective on Plasma does as well and

Plasma on the Internet has a huge international list of plasma related institutions by country.

Likewise!

~Michael Gmirkin

[MGmirkin]

Track down cutting edge papers that offer confirmation for the Electric Universe, and strike up a conversation with those paper authors.

Sage advice. Casual or business networking with people in the field may be a good way to find an "in." If nothing else, it never hurts to send an e-mail or a personal letter to someone whose paper interests you and ask for their opinion on related matters, or suggest an avenue of inquiry that may have a bearing on their line of investigation. If nothing else, they might offer criticism, additional information, or a line of investigation that you might find to be of interest. Never know when a professional contact may come in quite handy, especially if it's someone you end up corresponding with and maybe need a letter of recommendation or other support.

Just a thought.

Another thought is that you may wish to either self-school or do a couple more years in learning the standard model's take on some particular aspect of space that YOU find interesting. Then you might wish to look for a position in a standard astronomy / physics department, but where applicable suggest alternative methods of looking at the data in a way that an EE would look at it, rather than the way an astronomer would look at it. IE, if it's a plasma, rather than a "hot gas," tell them and explain the difference and why it matters (if they truly don't get it). Or in some way insinuate additional knowledge into the process that expands the range of things studied or the methods by which they're studied. It may be helpful to have people in the sciences that are "bi-ligual" (scientifically speaking, of course). If you have the ability to both speak "astronomer" and speak "EE," perhaps a codex of astronomy-EE term conversions could be built to allow better interchange of ideas, if there truly exists a language barrier between the disciplines? Sometimes, one thinks they do speak with slightly different dialects.

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin

[Discipline]

I am a senior EE major myself. The problem is, is that there is no real direct means of education in the field. Best means is self-research and communication with those who are already paving the way.

Make contact with plasma researchers if possible. I personally have made friends with the leading researcher at my university on x-pinch. I have not directly questioned him on the topic of EU, but I do ask tell-tale questions. If you can find someone in such research to talk to, then all the better.

Best of luck to you on your decision.

[squeej23]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I was pretty much expecting the overall theme of your responses: self-research. I figured that because the field is not typically accepted in mainstream scholastic institutions, there wouldn't be an easy way for me to pursue plasma cosmology (it was worth a shot though ).

The greatest help this post have given me has been links to articles, books, researchers, etc. Also, having more information on the type of impact such research would have on my daily life (work load, communications, stress, etc.), has helped me put such a pursuit into perspective.

I feel that starting off in the industry (probably focusing on semiconductor physics) would be a good place to start after college. Basically, give me a financial base to work from. I'll do research on my own time and consider taking standard-model courses in a couple years.

I think the biggest thing I want to do right now regarding PC is to gain a greater understanding of basic EM and Plasma physics to give myself a strong base to ground my PC studies in. My EE degree certainly helps me start that process, but there is still much more to learn (especially with some of the shortcomings of standard EM models ).

I hope that this site can be utilized by others like myself as a launching ground towards a greater understanding of plasma effects in the universe. Only by working together, for the sole purpose of furthering our understanding of the universe, can we move forward and away from the dogmas of the status quo.

Again, thank you all very much for your help,

Squeej