ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA Edition 428193 - Earth English Definition: 'Purple Dwarf' A Purple or P-dwarf is a Language English1 scientific expression defining a special class of the substellar L-dwarf family - bodies formerly known as brown dwarfs in the old catalogues.2 The P-dwarf is distinctive from other L-dwarfs due to its rapid rotation and intense, complex magnetic field. Observed periods are as short as eleven (11) minutes for bodies from fifty (50) to seventy-five (75) Jovian masses. The strong angular momentum combined with a dwarf's metallic hydrogen composition generates a magnetic field as strong as 5x105 gauss.3 This field induces electric currents in the atmosphere that energize the composing atoms and generate a luminous blue4 halo of varying brightness. The halo, combined with a normal L-dwarf's red to infrared4 black body glow - radiation generated from internal heat and supplemented by a P-dwarf's strong magnetic flux - produces a shifting purple4 hue with an absolute magnitude from +14.8 to +15.6. Although P-dwarfs and L-dwarfs do not fuse hydrogen or shine as stars, they do radiate strong levels of infrared radiation. Sufficient to create a narrow temperate zone5 that can centre from one-half (0.5) to two (2) million (106) km3 from the dwarf. In such regions metabolic supportive liquids6 such as water7 may be present on existing satellites if they have masses sufficient to retain a substantive atmosphere. For such temperate satellites, biospheres3 are possible but the close proximity to the dwarf will cause a satellite's rotational and orbital periods to synchronize.8 Usually, with one hemisphere always facing its energy source, a body may only develop a biosphere near hemispheric boundaries where the climate never becomes extreme and has measurable cycles. But, in the case of a P-dwarf system, radiation is not the only conduit for receiving available electromagnetic energy. Energy can be imparted into a biosphere through magnetic induction. The same magnetic field which causes a P-dwarf's blue aura can transfer energy to other orbiting bodies. The influx of energy through induction compensates for lack of direct radiation on the far side of a satellite. Therefore a temperate satellite would receive energy from both infrared radiation and magnetic induction. This enables such a body to support both a photoconsumption ecology9 and an electromotive ecology.10 The crystallographic life forms native to such an ecology are classified as living metals.11 Molecular level examples of such life forms are colloquially described as naturally occurring nanites.12 P-drawfs should not be confused with the much cooler and lighter T-dwarf. T-dwarfs owe their similar hue to sodium and potassium absorption (which represses the yellow and green portions of the visible spectrum4) in the atmosphere. See references: 1Civilization Humanity: Linguistic Types 2Civilization Humanity: Classification Conventions For Astronomical Objects 3Civilization Humanity: Scientific Standards 4Civilization Humanity: CIE Colour Chromaticity Table 5Definition: 'Temperate Zone' 6Definition: 'Metabolic Supportive Medium' 7Definition: Water 8Definition: 'Captured Rotation' 9Definition: ' Photoconsumption Ecology' 10Definition: ' Electromotive Ecology' 11Definition: 'Living Metals' 12Civilization Humanity: Molecular Scale Technologies