LOW VOLTAGE-GRADIENT PINCHES IN METAL-WALLED SYSTEMS

Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:4308053

Baker, D A; Sawyer, G A; Stratton, T F

Studies were made of high current pinched discharges in deuterium gas. Voltage gradients were one to five volts per cm, initial gas pressures were 0.1 to 10 microns Hg and axial magnetic fields were 500 gauss maximum. Metal walled, linear discharge tubes of 15 cm diameter tube was also assembled as an electrodeless, endless square with elbows at the corners, and excited as an air- core transformer. Current-voltage characteristics, high speed photography, time resolved spectra, and magnetic probe measurements were the principal diagnostic techniques. The magnetic field distributions obtained with the magnetic probes showed an oscillation in time and space for certain combinations of gas density, gas current, and applied axial magnetic field. It was possiblle to derive complete current distributions in this case from the time and radial dependence of the three components of magnetic field. The current distribution was found to show a helical notch of reduced current density which rotated with uniform angular velocity. The helical regularity appeared to be a superposition of hydromagnetic waves of the Alfven type traveling in thee z and theta directions with velocities approximatelly equal to sound velocity in the plasma. Hydromagnetic waves with motion perpendicular to H/sub o/ at approximately sound velocity were considered by Cowling. (auth)

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., N. Mex.
• NSA Number: NSA-12-014879
• OSTI ID: 4308053
• Report Number(s): A/CONF.15/P/1025
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

AIR
ALFVEN WAVES
CURRENTS
DENSITY
DEUTERIUM
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRODES
EXCITATION
GASES
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
METALS
MOTION
NUMERICALS
OSCILLATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHY
PHYSICS
PINCH
PLASMA
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PLASMA WAVES
PRESSURE
RESOLUTION
ROTATION
SOUND
SURFACES
TESTING
TRANSFORMERS
TUBES
VELOCITY