Magnetohydrodynamics is a model of electrically conducting fluids that treats all interpenetrating particle species together as a single continuous medium. It is primarily concerned with the low-frequency, large-scale, magnetic behavior in plasmas and liquid metals and has applications in numerous fields including geophysics, astrophysics, and engineering.
The plasma making up the Sun can be modeled as an MHD system
Schematic view of the different current systems which shape the Earth's magnetosphere
Electrical resistivity and conductivity
Electrical resistivity is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows electric current. Resistivity is commonly represented by the Greek letter ρ (rho). The SI unit of electrical resistivity is the ohm-metre (Ω⋅m). For example, if a 1 m3 solid cube of material has sheet contacts on two opposite faces, and the resistance between these contacts is 1 Ω, then the resistivity of the material is 1 Ω⋅m.
Lightning is an example of plasma present at Earth's surface. Typically, lightning discharges 30,000 amperes at up to 100 million volts, and emits light, radio waves, and X-rays. Plasma temperatures in lightning might approach 30,000 kelvin (29,727 °C) (53,540 °F), or five times hotter than the temperature at the sun surface, and electron densities may exceed 1024 m−3.
