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The formation of stars and galaxies has long been assumed by electrical theorists to result from pinch effects in cosmic electric (Birkeland) currents. The exact details of these pinches and the mechanisms involved have remained obscure even though various laboratory experiments have been done in the past. These details are now clarified by relating the mechanisms of Marklund convection and the double plasma focus experiments of W. Bostick. The observed ubiquitous 'hour-glass' shapes of planetary nebulae are shown to be fundamental to this process. The major difference between the formation of stars and of galaxies is simply a matter of scale - the processes are essentially identical.

This paper is presented in two sections. The first is a tutorial description of the Electric Sun model developed and presented in 1979 by engineer Ralph Juergens. This model explains in detail why the solar corona exists, the causes of the Sun's anomalous temperature profile, the nature and function of the ?spicules? that erupt through the chromosphere, and the fact that the photospheric granules limit the outflow of ions from the solar surface. This tutorial will cover only the important points of that model. The second section of this paper presents, for the first time, the concept of the ?Electronic sun?. This is an extension of Juergens' hypothesis that explores the transistor-like behavior of the charge layers that sheath the solar surface. This mechanism explains why coronal hot spots appear above sunspots, why the corona changes shape from times of the active sun to times of the quiet sun, what mechanism controls both the flow rate and the initial velocity of the solar wind, and how the solar wind can be cutoff by this mechanism.

In recognition of a lifetime commitment to excellence in scientific pursuit. For the transistor effect in the electric star model, for alternatives to magnetic reconnection as an explanation for anomalies in astronomy, and for correlations between plasma experiments in the laboratory and observations in the cosmos.

IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science, Jeju, Korea, 2003, pp. 143 and 120.