Interplanetary Shock
A shock wave is the interface separating an
upstream flow from a downstream flow. It may be driven by a supersonic
object (a piston) or it may be initiated by an "explosion". In the
case of the shock shown in the Figure, occurring at approximately 12:40,
the density and the magnetic field amplitude both increase downstream
of the shock. The increase in density causes a corresponding increase
in the plasma frequency, which may be seen in the behavior of the
quasithermal noise.
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Updated 2005-10-17