LUCTURES ON THE HYDROMAGNETIC STABILITY OF A CYLINDRICAL PLASMA. III. SURFACE INSTABILITIES OF THE "STABILISED PINCH"

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1959

OSTI ID:4207355

Tayler, R J

>The simplest stable configuration of a cylindrical discharge is that known as the "stabilized pinch." This is a configuration in which all the currents flow on the surface of the plasma and there are two stabilizing influences; a strong axial magnetic field inside the plasma and a conducting tube containing the system. This configuration is physically unreal as any current layer must have a finite thickness. When such a thickness is introduced, perturbations are possible which disturb the surface of the plasma but do not affect the inner surface of the current layer. The trapped axial magnetic field cannot exert its full stabilizing influence on such penturbations and the conditions for stability are more stringent than those required for the "stabilized pinch." Stable configurations do exist in which the axial magnetic field in the vacuum is in the opposite direction to the axial magnetic field in the plasma. (auth)

• Research Organization: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Research Group. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Berks, England
• NSA Number: NSA-14-005923
• OSTI ID: 4207355
• Report Number(s): AERE-L-104
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CONFIGURATION
CURRENTS
CYLINDERS
DISTURBANCES
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
LAYERS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
PHYSICS
PINCH
PLASMA
STABILITY
SURFACES
THICKNESS
TUBES