Type III solar radio bursts are an example of kinetic physics in the solar wind that involve
intrinsic temporal variations and a coupling of small spatial scales to large spatial scales.
They are associated with streams of energetic electrons ( 
) released onto
open field lines during solar flares which naturally develop a beam distribution by time-of-flight
effects and then drive Langmuir waves and radiation near multiples of the plasma frequency.
Type III bursts illuminate many interesting and important questions regarding the evolution of
electron beams and Langmuir waves in plasmas. They also can be used to trace the Parker
spirals characteristic of interplanetary magnetic field lines. They were discussed in some
detail in Lecture 10.