Background
Priest, Eric Ronald was born on November 7, 1943 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Son of Ronald and Olive (Dolan) Priest.
(Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phen...)
Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phenomena in the universe, such as solar flares, geomagnetic substorms and tokamak disruptions. Written by two world leaders on the subject, this volume provides a comprehensive overview of this fundamental process. Coverage gives both a pedagogical account of the basic theory and a wide-ranging review of the physical phenomena created by reconnection--from laboratory machines, the Earth's magnetosphere, and the Sun's atmosphere to flare stars and astrophysical accretion disks. It also includes a succinct account of particle acceleration by electric fields, stochastic fields and shock waves, and how reconnection can be important in these mechanisms. Clearly written and highly accessible, this volume serves as an essential introduction for graduate students in solar physics, astrophysics, plasma physics and space science. Researchers in these fields also will find Magnetic Reconnection an authoritative reference.
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(Given is an account of the enormous advances in solar fla...)
Given is an account of the enormous advances in solar flare theory. The overall understanding of flares (which can be exceedingly complex, with a multitude of secondary phenomena) has greatly increased during the past ten years as a result of recent observations both from high resolution ground-based instruments and space telescopes such as those on board Skylab and Solar Maximum Mission satellites.
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applied mathematician Solar theorist
Priest, Eric Ronald was born on November 7, 1943 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Son of Ronald and Olive (Dolan) Priest.
Bachelor of Science, Nottingham University, 1965. Master of Science, Leeds University, 1966. Doctor of Philosophy, Leeds University, 1969.
He is a recognised authority in solar magnetohydrodynamics (or magnetohydrodynamic for short), the study of the subtle, and often nonlinear, interaction between the Sun"s magnetic field and its plasma interior or atmosphere, treated as a continuous medium. This is done using mathematical modelling techniques and observational data from satellites such as SoHO, Yohkoh and TRACE, or ground based observatories such as Kitt Peak and Big Bear. In 2000 he was the James Arthur Prize Lecturer at Harvard University.
He is notable in the solar physics community as something of an evangelist for the importance of magnetic reconnection in driving many solar phenomena, and as an explanation of the solar coronal heating problem.
As an applied mathematician, his research interests involve constructing mathematical models for the subtle and complex ways in which magnetic fields interact with plasmas in the atmosphere of the Sun and in more exotic cosmic objects. In particular, he is trying to understand how the corona of the Sun is heated to several million degrees and how magnetic energy is converted into other forms in solar flares.
James Arthur Prize Lecturer at Harvard University (2000) and Forbes, T.G., Heyvaerts, J.F. and Title, Master of Arts and Forbes, T.G.
(Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phen...)
(Given is an account of the enormous advances in solar fla...)
Royal Society; Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]
Priest is an applied mathematician and, along with the other members of his research group at Street Andrews, is currently investigating a large number of solar phenomena, including sunspots, coronal heating, wave propagation, magnetic reconnection, magnetic instabilities, magnetic structures and helioseismology.
Married Clare M. Wilson, July 25, 1970. Children: Andrew, David, Matthew, Naomi.