Presents the experimental results while explaining the underlying physics on the basis of simple reasoning and agumentation.Assumes only basic knowledge of of fundamental physics and mathematics as usually required for introductory college courses in science or engineering curricula.Derives more specifics of selected topics as each phenomenon considered ,epmasizing an intuitive over a rigorous mathematical approach.Directed at a broad group of readers and students.

1. Introduction.- 1.1 Definitions and Constraints.- 1.2 Scope and Organization of the Material.- 1.3 Brief History of Space Research.- 2. Neutral Upper Atmosphere.- 2.1 State Parameters of Gases and their Gas Kinetic Interpretation.- 2.1.1 Definition and Derivation of Gas Kinetic Parameters.- 2.1.2 Macroscopic State Parameters.- 2.2 Height Profiles of the State Parameters.- 2.3 Barospheric Density Distribution.- 2.3.1 Aerostatic Equation.- 2.3.2 Pressure Gradient Force.- 2.3.3 Barometric Law.- 2.3.4 Heterospheric Density Distribution.- 2.3.5 Gas Kinetics of the Barometric Law.- 2.3.6 Transition from Homosphere to Heterosphere.- 2.3.7 Atomic Oxygen and Hydrogen.- 2.4 Exospheric Density Distribution.- 2.4.1 Exobase Height.- 2.4.2 Escape Velocity.- 2.4.3 Velocity Distribution in Gases.- 2.4.4 Escape Flux and Stability of the Atmosphere.- 2.4.5 Exospheric Density Distribution.- 3. Absorption of Solar Radiation Energy.- 3.1 Origin and Characteristics of Solar Radiation.- 3.1.1 Interior Structure of the Sun.- 3.1.2 Solar Atmosphere.- 3.1.3 Radiation Spectrum.- 3.1.4 Variation of the Radiation Intensity.- 3.2 Extinction of Solar Radiation in the Upper Atmosphere.- 3.2.1 Absorption Processes.- 3.2.2 Extinction of Radiation in Gases.- 3.2.3 Extinction of Radiation in the Upper Atmosphere.- 3.2.4 Energy Deposition from Radiation Absorption.- 3.3 Heating and Temperature Profile.- 3.3.1 Heat Production.- 3.3.2 Temperature Increase from Heating.- 3.3.3 Heat Losses by Radiative Coohng.- 3.3.4 Heat Losses by Molecular Heat Conduction.- 3.3.5 Heat Balance Equation and Temperature Profile.- 3.3.6 Estimate of the Thermopause Temperature.- 3.3.7 Temperature and Density Variations.- 3.3.8 Airglow.- 3.4 Thermospheric Winds.- 3.4.1 Diurnal Wind Circulation: Observations.- 3.4.2 Inventory of Relevant Forces.- 3.4.3 Momentum Balance Equation.- 3.4.4 Calculation of Thermospheric Winds.- 3.5 Atmospheric Waves.- 3.5.1 Wave Parameters.- 3.5.2 Acoustic Waves.- 3.5.3 Buoyancy Oscillations.- 3.5.4 Gravity Waves.- 4. Ionosphere.- 4.1 Height Profile of Ionospheric State Parameters.- 4.2 Ionization Production and Loss.- 4.2.1 Ionization Production.- 4.2.2 Ionization Losses.- 4.2.3 Chemical Composition.- 4.3 Density Profile in the Lower Ionosphere.- 4.3.1 Density Balance Equation.- 4.3.2 Density Profile in the E Region.- 4.3.3 Density Profile in the Lower F Region.- 4.4 Density Profile in the Upper Ionosphere.- 4.4.1 Barometric Density Distribution.- 4.4.2 Polarization Field.- 4.4.3 Transport Equilibrium.- 4.4.4 Production-Generated Downward Current.- 4.5 Density Maximum and Ionospheric Time Constants.- 4.5.1 Ionospheric Time Constants.- 4.5.2 Ionization Density Maximum.- 4.5.3 lonoexosphere.- 4.6 Systematic Variations of the Ionization Density.- 4.7 Radio waves in the Ionosphere.- 4.7.1 Plasma Oscillations.- 4.7.2 The Ionosphere as a Dielectric.- 4.7.3 The Ionosphere as a Conducting Reflector.- 4.7.4 Magnetic Field Influence.- 5. Magnetosphere.- 5.1 Fundamentals.- 5.2 The Geomagnetic Field Near the Earth.- 5.3 Charged Particle Motion in the Geomagnetic Field.- 5.3.1 Gyromotion.- 5.3.2 Oscillatory (Bounce) Motion.- 5.3.3 Drift Motion.- 5.3.4 Composite Charge Carrier Motion.- 5.3.5 Coulomb Collisions.- 5.4 Particle Populations in the Inner Magnetosphere.- 5.4.1 Radiation Belt.- 5.4.2 Ring Current.- 5.4.3 Plasmasphere.- 5.5 The Distant Geomagnetic Field.- 5.5.1 Configuration and Classification.- 5.5.2 Dayside Magnetopause Currents.- 5.5.3 Current System of the Geomagnetic Tail.- 5.6 Particle Populations in the Outer Magnetosphere.- 5.6.1 Magnetotail Plasma Sheet.- 5.6.2 Magnetotail Lobe Plasma.- 5.6.3 Magnetospheric Boundary Layer.- 5.7 Magnetoplasma Waves in the Magnetosphere.- 6. Interplanetary Medium.- 6.1 The Solar Wind.- 6.1.1 Properties of the Solar Wind at the Earth¿s Orbit.- 6.1.2 Gas Dynamic Model.- 6.1.3 Temperature Profile.- 6.1.4 Extended Gas Dynamic Models.- 6.1.5 Exospheric Model.- 6.1.6 Large-Scale Solar Wind Structure in the Ecliptic.- 6.1.7 Solar Wind Outside the Ecliptic Plane.- 6.2 Interplanetary Magnetic Field.- 6.2.1 Observations.- 6.2.2 Simple Model of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field.- 6.2.3 Magnetic Field Structure Outside the Ecliptic.- 6.2.4 Heliospheric Current Sheet.- 6.2.5 Sector Structure and B? Component.- 6.2.6 Interplanetary Electric Field.- 6.2.7 The Interplanetary Medium as a Magnetoplasma.- 6.3 Magnetoplasma Waves in the Interplanetary Medium.- 6.3.1 Plasma Acoustic Waves.- 6.3.2 Alfven Waves.- 6.3.3 Magnetosonic Waves.- 6.4 Modification of the Solar Wind by the Bow Shock.- 6.4.1 Formation of the Bow Shock.- 6.4.2 Modification of the Solar Wind by the Bow Shock.- 6.4.3 Results from Model Calculations.- 6.4.4 Pressure Balance at the Magnetopause.- 6.4.5 The Bow Shock as a Plasmadynamic Phenomenon.- 6.5 Interaction of the Solar Wind with the Interstellar Medium.- 6.6 Energetic Particles in Interplanetary Space.- 6.6.1 Energetic Particles of Galactic Origin.- 6.6.2 Energetic Particles of Interplanetary Origin.- 6.6.3 Energetic Particles of Solar/Planetary Origin.- 7. Absorption and Dissipation of Solar Wind Energy.- 7.1 Topology of the Polar Upper Atmosphere.- 7.2 Electric Fields and Plasma Convection.- 7.3 Ionospheric Conductivity and Currents.- 7.3.1 Collision Modified Charge Carrier Motion.- 7.3.2 Ionospheric Transverse Conductivity.- 7.3.3 Parallel Conductivity.- 7.3.4 Ionospheric Currents.- 7.3.5 Magnetic Field Effects.- 7.4 Aurorae.- 7.4.1 Morphology.- 7.4.2 Dissipation of Auroral Particle Energy.- 7.4.3 Origin of the Auroral Particles.- 7.5 Neutral Atmospheric Effects.- 7.5.1 Drift-induced Winds.- 7.5.2 Heating.- 7.5.3 Composition Disturbances.- 7.6 Energy Transfer from Solar Wind to Magnetosphere.- 7.6.1 Solar Wind Dynamo.- 7.6.2 Open Magnetosphere.- 7.6.3 Plasma Convection in the Open Magnetosphere.- 7.6.4 Open Magnetosphere with Tail.- 7.6.5 Reconnection.- 7.6.6 Origin of Birkeland Currents.- 7.6.7 Low-Latitude Boundary Layer Dynamo.- 8. Geospheric Storms.- 8.1 Magnetic Storms.- 8.1.1 Regular Variations.- 8.1.2 Magnetic Activity at Low Latitudes.- 8.1.3 Magnetic Activity at High Latitudes.- 8.1.4 Magnetic Activity at Mid-latitudes.- 8.2 Auroral Substorms.- 8.3 Magnetospheric Substorms.- 8.3.1 Growth Phase.- 8.3.2 Expansion Phase.- 8.4 Thermospheric Storms.- 8.4.1 Composition Disturbances at Mid-latitudes.- 8.4.2 Density Disturbances at Low Latitudes.- 8.5 Ionospheric Storms.- 8.5.1 Negative Ionospheric Storms.- 8.5.2 Positive Ionospheric Storms.- 8.6 The Sun as the Origin of Geospheric Storms.- 8.6.1 Solar Mass Ejections and Magnetic Clouds.- 8.6.2 Corotating Interaction Regions.- 8.6.3 Solar Flares.- 8.7 Disturbance Effects on Technological Systems.- A. Formulas, Tables and Derivations.- A.l Selected Mathematical Formulas.- A.2 Physical Parameters of the Earth.- A.3 Planetary Data.- A.4 Model Atmosphere.- A.5 Diffusion Equation for Gases.- A.6 Derivation of the Momentum Balance Equation.- A.7 Energy Balance Equation of an Adiabatic Gas Flow.- A.8 Bernoulh Equation.- A.9 Rankine-Hugoniot Equations.- A.10 Maxwell Equations.- A. 11 Curvature of a Dipole Field Line.- A. 12 Gradient Drift Velocity.- A. 13 System of Equations for Ideal Magnetoplasmadynamics.- A.13.1 Balance Equations of a Magnetoplasma.- A. 13.2 Maxwell Equations and the Generahzed Ohm¿s Law.- A. 13.3 Validity Test of the Approximations.- A. 14 Two Theorems of Magnetoplasmadynamics.- A. 15 Magnetoplasma Waves.- A.15.1 Simplification of the System of Equations.- A.15.2 Wave Propagation Parallel to a Magnetic Field.- A. 15.3 Wave Propagation Perpendicular to a Magnetic Field.- A.15.4 Validity Test of the Approximations.- A.16 Plasma Instabilities.- B. Figure and Table References.