This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Tom Lawrence
Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917), a Norwegian physicist who in 1903, along with Samuel Eyde, developed an electric-arc process (the Birkeland-Eyde process) for nitrogen fixation, one of the first processes used in the large-scale manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer from atmospheric nitrogen. Birkeland is also recognized among the early pioneers of plasma physics and space physics. He is famous for his early and prescient explanation of the aurora borealis in terms of energetic particles from the solar wind interacting with the Earth's magnetosphere. Based on results from his Norwegian Polar Expedition, conducted from 1899 to 1900, Birkeland was the first to determine the global pattern of electric currents in the polar region from ground magnetic field measurements.
Cutler Cleveland (Lead Author);Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor) "Birkeland, Kristian". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 18, 2006; Last revised Date August 18, 2006; Retrieved May 26, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Birkeland,_Kristian>
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The Encyclopedia of Earth Cutler J. Cleveland is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. Dr. Cleveland is currently a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, with joint appointments in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future. He also is a Senior Fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C. Dr. Cleveland is als ... (Full Bio)
Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917), a Norwegian physicist who in 1903, along with Samuel Eyde, developed an electric-arc process (the Birkeland-Eyde process) for nitrogen fixation, one of the first processes used in the large-scale manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer from atmospheric nitrogen. Birkeland is also recognized among the early pioneers of plasma physics and space physics. He is famous for his early and prescient explanation of the aurora borealis in terms of energetic particles from the solar wind interacting with the Earth's magnetosphere. Based on results from his Norwegian Polar Expedition, conducted from 1899 to 1900, Birkeland was the first to determine the global pattern of electric currents in the polar region from ground magnetic field measurements.
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