Abstract
Within the framework of Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics (EIT) a phenomenological theory is proposed for a polarizable and magnetizable plasma in an electromagnetic field. In particular, for the polarization a transport equation is proposed generalizing the well-established Debye's law for dielectric relaxation. For the magnetization a transport equation is proposed generalizing the well-established Langevin's law for magnetic relaxation. The present equations correspond to those obtained by Dixon involving also coupling terms with the heat flux. Finally, in the special case in which cross-effects are not taken into account, the dispersion relation for plane weak electromagnetic disturbances is derived.
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