INDUCTIVE PULSED PLASMA CURRENT SHEETS.
Abstract
A detailed set of probe measurements and a laser light scattering measurement of electron density have been made in the current sheet produced by a pulsed inductive accelerator. The purpose of the investigation was to formulate a physically valid description of the processes within the current sheet. It has been shown that the discharge consists of a thin flat disc of pure j sub theta current having nearly constant properties over the accelerator diameter. The only current carriers are electrons. The gas is ionized and swept up into a 4 mm thick plasma layer near the center of the current sheet. Ion acceleration is by axial charge separation electric field that is effective ahead of the mass layer only, where it is produced both by electron current and by a strong negative electron pressure gradient. On the accelerator coil side of the mass layer the positive electron gradient is just supported by the current sheet body force and the accelerating electric field nearly vanishes. Both the light scattering measurement of densityand that calculated from probe data show that the plasma is mostly doubly ionized. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0709686
Entities
People
- C. L. Dailey