Accelerating Electrons in the Heart of Earth's Radiation Belts (2 of 3) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Accelerating Electrons in the Heart of Earth's Radiation Belts (2 of 3)

Caption

Local acceleration of radiation belt electrons is produced by resonance with electromagnetic waves. Resonance occurs when an electromagnetic wave (blue) spirals around the magnetic field at the same speed that electrons (red) do. When this happens the wave gives the electron a series of well-timed pushes that increase the electron's speed -- like pushing a child on a swing. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the July 25, 2013, issue of Science Express, published by AAAS. The paper, by Geoff D. Reeves at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M., and colleagues was titled, "Electron Acceleration in the Heart of the Van Allen Radiation Belts."

Credit

[Image courtesy of Geoff Reeves, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)]

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