Alfvén Speed

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Alfvén Speed

The speed at which Alfvén waves are propagated along the magnetic field.
For a perfectly conducting fluid with a mass density of 1 kilogram per cubic meter in a magnetic field of 10,000 gauss, the Alfvén speed is about 1,000 meters per second while the speed of sound in air is about 300 meters per second.

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use