Eugene Newman Parker

Research activity concentrated on the exotic hydrodynamics, plasma physics, and magnetohydrodynamics arising in the gravitational fields and large dimensions of the astronomical universe. Examples include the origin of the magnetic field of Earth and of the Sun, expansion of the solar corona to create the supersonic solar wind, the dynamics of the galactic magnetic field, and the spontaneous appearance of current sheets in evolving magnetic fields, causing rapid dissipation of magnetic energy into various forms of heat.