Ion Temperature and Hydrodynamic-Energy Measurements in a Z-Pinch Plasma at Stagnation
- Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
The time history of the local ion kinetic energy in a stagnating plasma was determined from Doppler-dominated line shapes. Using independent determination of the plasma properties for the same plasma region, the data allowed for inferring the time-dependent ion temperature, and for discriminating the temperature from the total ion kinetic energy. It is found that throughout most of the stagnation period the ion thermal energy constitutes a small fraction of the total ion kinetic energy; the latter is dominated by hydrodynamic motion. Both the ion hydrodynamic and thermal energies are observed to decrease to the electron thermal energy by the end of the stagnation period. It is confirmed that the total ion kinetic energy available at the stagnating plasma and the total radiation emitted are in balance, as obtained in our previous experiment. The dissipation time of the hydrodynamic energy thus appears to determine the duration (and power) of the K emission.
- OSTI ID:
- 21611573
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.105001; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Ion-Kinetic-Energy Measurements and Energy Balance in a Z-Pinch Plasma at Stagnation