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Turbulent heating of ions and anomalous skin effects in a toroidal device

Book ·
OSTI ID:4421885

From third international symposium on toroidal plasma confinement; Garching, Germany (26 Mar 1973). The ion-heating mechanlsm and behavior of plasma current penetration were investigated in a toroidal turbulent heating device. Rapid ion heating observed was attributed to ion acoustic turbulence. Observed rapid and deep-current penetration cannot be explained by the plasma resistivity. Experiments were performed in a toroidal device. A betatron-type electric field of about 100 V/cm is applied parallel to a toroidal magnetic field about 2 kG after the formation of the initial argon or helium plasma with a density 10/sup 11/ to 7 x 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -3/. It was found that the electrons are rapidly heated (several keV within 0.5 mu sec) by the trapped-particle'' instability, which is caused by an initial ion density perturbation. Time- resolved argon-ion temperature measurements show that the ions start being heated at about 1 mu sec after application of the electric field. Spatial and temporal behavior of the plasma current was studied by a small magnetic probe for a wide range of plasma density (10/sup 11/ to 7 x 10/sup 13/ cm-/sup (GE)

Research Organization:
Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
NSA Number:
NSA-29-009117
OSTI ID:
4421885
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English