Irvine : UCI Physicists Develop Model of Solar Activity

A computer model of activity on the surface of the sun has been made by physicists at UC Irvine. University officials said the result may be a better understanding of such things as solar flares, which disrupt radio communications on earth.

The computer model provides insight into solar filaments, university officials said. Solar filaments are huge, looping ribbons of matter, cooler and denser than the surrounding atmospheric plasma of the sun. Scientists believe that at least some filaments give rise to solar flares.

“We have entered an era of computer experimentation in which we mathematically construct a piece of sun and observe what it does,” said Gerard Van Hoven, a UCI physics professor.

Others involved in the UCI project are Lawrence Sparks, Toschi Tachi and Dalton Schnack. The research is being supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.

The researchers are using special computers owned by the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Energy to keep track of the numerous physical interactions that produce solar filaments.