The inapplicability of ideal MHD stability theory to the dense Z-pinch

Conference · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (USA)

OSTI ID:6503638

Haines, M G; Coppins, M; Culverwell, I D ^[1]

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1. Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

For many years Z-pinch has been considered to be intrinsically unstable. This followed the theory of Kruskal and Schwarzchild and experiments of Carruthers and Anderson {ital et} {ital al}. However in the regime of parameter space required for thermonuclear fusion, the ratio of ion Larmor radius to pinch radius is about one third; and the compressional Z-pinch at Imperial College in which the ratio is one tenth has been found to be anomalously stable for sixteen Alfven transit times. Recent deuterium fibre experiments at NRL and Los Alamos have also reported anomalous stability. The regimes for stability can be classified using a generalization of the work of Friedberg, and using the Bennett relation which describes pressure balance. As a result ideal MHD is found to be confined to a small wedge-shaped region in ln({ital I}{sup 4}{alpha}) versus ln N space, where {ital I}, {ital a}, and {ital N} are the current (A) and pinch radius (m), and line density (m{sup {minus}1}) respectively.

• OSTI ID: 6503638
• Report Number(s): CONF-8904107--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (USA) Journal Volume: 195:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700101* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Confinement
Heating
& Production
700107 -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Instabilities
EQUILIBRIUM
LINEAR PINCH DEVICES
LINEAR Z PINCH DEVICES
MHD EQUILIBRIUM
OPEN PLASMA DEVICES
PINCH DEVICES
PINCH EFFECT
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA SIMULATION
SIMULATION
STABILITY
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES