  In models of fast magnetic reconnection, flux transfer occurs within a small
portion of a current sheet triggering stored magnetic energy to be thermalized
by shocks. When the initial current sheet separates magnetic fields which are
not perfectly anti-parallel, i.e. they are skewed, magnetic energy is first
converted to bulk kinetic energy and then thermalized in slow magnetosonic
shocks. We show that the latter resemble parallel shocks or hydrodynamic shocks
for all skew angles except those very near the anti-parallel limit. As for
parallel shocks, the structures of reconnection-driven slow shocks are best
studied using two-fluid equations in which ions and electrons have independent
temperature. Time-dependent solutions of these equations can be used to predict
and understand the shocks from reconnection of skewed magnetic fields. The
results differ from those found using a single-fluid model such as
magnetohydrodynamics. In the two-fluid model electrons are heated indirectly
and thus carry a heat flux always well below the free-streaming limit. The
viscous stress of the ions is, however, typically near the fluid-treatable
limit. We find that for a wide range of skew angles and small plasma beta an
electron conduction front extends ahead of the slow shock but remains within
the outflow jet. In such cases conduction will play a more limited role in
driving chromospheric evaporation than has been predicted based on
single-fluid, anti-parallel models.
