- published: 08 Feb 2012
- views: 36779
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time. These particles can escape the Sun's gravity because of their high kinetic energy and the high temperature of the corona.
The solar wind creates the heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium that surrounds the Solar System. Other phenomena include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the aurorae (northern and southern lights), and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the Sun.
The continuous stream of particles flowing outward from the Sun was first suggested by British astronomer Richard C. Carrington. In 1859, Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently made the first observation of what would later be called a solar flare. This is a sudden outburst of energy from the Sun's atmosphere. On the following day, a geomagnetic storm was observed, and Carrington suspected that there might be a connection. George Fitzgerald later suggested that matter was being regularly accelerated away from the Sun and was reaching the Earth after several days.
Tom Barabas is an American-Hungarian pianist/keyboardist. He studied classical music at the Caracas Conservatory in Venezuela before developing a taste for rock, jazz, and New Age.
Barabas spent his childhood in Hungary, and emigrated to the US in the 1960s, living and composing in San Diego, California. In the classic style of great, onstage performers, Tom Barabas delivers a musically eloquent experience that builds rapport with his audience and invites them to fall in love with his graceful streams of sound.
Artist Profile - Tom Barabas spent his early years immersed in the diverse musical traditions of European culture and those of North and South America but he did not expect to become the sought-after pianist and composer that he is today.
National reviewer, P.J. Birosik’s response to Tom’s music echoes the sentiments of his fans across the country – ”Barabas composes richly harmonic and well-articulated pieces that satisfy the soul and stir the imagination.” He performs with an intimacy, spontaneity and living warmth that sets him apart from other instrumentalists. His technique combines classical, Latin and jazz traditions in an unmistakably personal and joyful style.