skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Thomson scattering on ELMO Bumpy Torus

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5883420· OSTI ID:5883420

Below 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/ density, a Thomson scattering experiment is an exacting task. Aside from the low signal level, the core plasma in this instance is bathed in high-energy x rays, surrounded by a glowing molecular surface plasma, and heated steady state by microwaves. This means that the noise level from radiation is high and the environment is extremely harsh-so harsh that much effort is required to overcome system damage. In spite of this, the ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT) system has proven itself capable of providing reliable n/sub e/ and T/sub e/ measurements at densities as low as 2 x 10/sup 11/ cm/sup -3/. Radial scans across 20 cm of the plasma diameter have been obtained on a routine basis, and the resulting information has been a great help in understanding confinement in the EBT plasma. The bulk electron properties are revealed as flat profiles of n/sub e/ and T/sub e/, with density ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 x 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/ and temperature decreasing from 100 to 20 eV as pressure in the discharge is increased at constant power. Evidence is presented for a suprathermal tail, which amounts to about 10% of the electron distribution at low pressures. The validity of this conclusion is supported by two independent sensitivity calibrations.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5883420
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-9471; ON: DE85010584
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English