Macroscopic Equations for a Conducting Fluid

Abstract

A plasma can also be considered as a conducting fluid, without specifying its various individual species. The macroscopic transport equations, derived in the previous chapter, describe the macroscopic behavior of each individual plasma species (electrons, ions, and neutral particles). We will determine now the set of transport equations that describe the macroscopic behavior of the plasma as a whole, without considering the individual species present. Each macroscopic variable is combined, by adding the contributions of the various particle species in the plasma. This procedure yields the total macroscopic parameters of interest, such as the total mass and charge densities, the total mass and charge current densities (or flux), the total kinetic pressure dyad, and the total heat flux vector.