Experimental Investigations of the Motion of Plasma Projected from a Button Source across Magnetic Fields

Abstract

The velocity with which the plasma from a button source propagates across magnetic fields has been measured as a function of the experimental parameters. These experiments revealed that the velocity of the plasma front is a slowly varying function of the magnetic field strength from one to six kilogauss and increases monotonically with the voltage applied to the source condensers. Measurements of the arrival time of the plasma front versus distance from the source show that it moves across the magnetic field with constant velocity. When the source orientation is such that the force exerted by the magnetic field on the discharge current is in the direction of propagation the velocity is increased, and vice versa.