Preface

Summary

This book is the outgrowth of teaching an introductory course in geomagnetically trapped radiation to graduate and undergraduate students at Stanford University. Because this material is well-plowed ground, the topics are presented in what is hoped to be a logical sequence, and the historical chronology is not followed. The emphasis is on the basic physical processes treated in a tutorial manner, rather than on the descriptive aspects of the magnetosphere. Thus the principles developed here should be useful regardless of further evolution in our understanding of trapped radiation. Items such as frequently used formulas and graphs of trapped particle parameters are collected in appendices for ready access and for future reference.

The rationalized MKS system of electromagnetic units is used throughout the book. Although much of the published research in this field is in Gaussian units, the author believes that the MKS system is preferable and will eventually prevail. Some exceptions to SI units are allowed, such as particle fluxes, which are expressed in cm^-2s^-1 rather than m^-2s^-1 because of convention and because detector apertures are more readily visualized in cm².

Inasmuch as this work is written to be a textbook rather than a review of current research, references to original works are limited.