HEATING AND CONFINEMENT OF A PLASMA BY ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELDS,

Abstract

A method is proposed in which a plasma is confined by an alternating magnetic field. The plasma is field-free except in a thin boundary layer. No diffusion takes place since this boundary is periodically reconstituted by the field, maintaining the penetration depth at a fixed value. At high temperatures, the confining field heats both electrons and ions, preferentially the latter. This heating is very efficient. About half of the total applied power is absorbed by the plasma, the rest being copper losses. The technical feasibility of plasma confinement by alternating magnetic fields is examined, and numerical examples are given. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 20, 1963
Accession Number
AD0425559

Entities

People

  • Erich S. Weibel

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Diffusion
  • Electrons
  • High Temperature
  • Layers
  • Magnetic Fields

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics