Abstract
The progress of space physics is reviewed from my personal point of view, particularly how I have reached my present understanding of auroral substorms and geomagnetic storms from the time of the earliest days of space physics. This review is somewhat unique in two ways. First of all, instead of taking the magnetic field line approach (including magnetic reconnection), I have taken the electric current approach; it consists of power supply (dynamo), transmission (currents/circuits), and dissipation (auroral/magnetospheric substorms). This is the basic way to study electromagnetic phenomena and it is much more instructive in understanding the physics involved in the chain processes. Secondly, this is not a textbook-like review, but it is hoped that my humble experience may be useful to see how a new science of space physics has evolved with a number of controversies. On the other hand, it can be seen that the electric current approach is still in a very rudiment stage. Thus, new generations of researchers are most welcome in taking this new way of studying auroral/magnetospheric substorms and geomagnetic storms.
Highlights
There were at least three fields: geomagnetism, auroral physics, and ionospheric physics
It was soon realized that one of the major tasks in space physics was to study how the magnetosphere generates geomagnetic storms and substorms by varying solar wind intensity or how the magnetosphere responds after receiving energy from the solar wind and converts it into two phenomena, geomagnetic storms and auroral/ magnetospheric substorms, Figure 1
It is shown later that the acquired knowledge of the electric current here is crucial in understanding the cause of auroral/ magnetospheric substorms and the cause-effect relationship between the main phase of geomagnetic storms and substorms
Summary
There were at least three fields: geomagnetism, auroral (optical) physics, and ionospheric physics. It is shown later that the acquired knowledge of the electric current here is crucial in understanding the cause of auroral/ magnetospheric substorms and the cause-effect relationship between the main phase of geomagnetic storms and substorms.
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