Shocks and discontinuities (magnetohydrodynamics)

In magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), shocks and discontinuities are transition layers where properties of a plasma change from one equilibrium state to another. The relation between the plasma properties on both sides of a shock or a discontinuity can be obtained from the conservative form of the MHD equations, assuming conservation of mass, momentum, energy and of ∇ ⋅ B {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {B} } .

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