This project is a continuation of the development of the Rice Field Model (RFM). The RFM is a physical model of the magnetic and electric fields in the magnetosphere. A number of simplifying assumptions were made in developing the current version of the RFM. This new program will improve the accuracy and flexibility of the RFM by removing some of those original assumptions. In particular, the revisions will allow the length of the Earth's magnetotail to be a variable function of the cross-tail potential drop, the assumption that the magnetosphere is in a steady state will be relaxed, and the electric field at the tail X-line will be incorporated as an independent boundary condition. The goal is a more accurate representation of the nightside magnetosphere.
