Spatial fragmentation of solar flare plasma and beams

The observational and theoretical arguments for spatial fragmentation of the bulk of the thermal and non-thermal components of solar flare plasma are summarised. Observational aspects considered include XUV filling factors, EUV centre to limb variations, andH impact polarisation. Theoretical points addressed are the high flare inductance and beam/return current closure at the acceleration site.A high degree of beam/plasma filamentation implies strong transverse temperature gradients so that cross-field conduction must be included in energy transport modelling. Preliminary results are described for a simple two-component model.