Document Type
Presentation
Journal/Book Title/Conference
54th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Providence, Rhode Island
Volume
57
Issue
12
Publication Date
10-29-2012
Abstract
Recently, Abolhasani et al, proposed that the high ion energies observed in plasmoids formed in the plasma focus could be explained by viscous heating. We here elaborate this proposal, demonstrating that during plasmoid formation, ion motion along magnetic field lines can be rapidly converted, at least in part, to thermal energy through viscous diffusion. This effect is strongly enhanced by higher-z ions. We compare the theoretical predictions with the recent observation by Lerner et al, of trapped ion energies of 160 keV. In addition, we propose a second source of heating. The mildly relativistic electron beam emitted by the plasmoid, generates an induced current within the plasmoid comparable to the beam current and confined to approximately the same region. The induced current electrons, with drift velocity vde
Recommended Citation
Ahmad Talaei and E. Lerner “Viscous and induced current heating in plasma focus plasmoids” Proceeding of 54th annual meeting of the APS division of plasma physics, vol. 57, No. 12, RI, USA, 2012
Comments
Presentation given at the 54th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics. Presentation slides are available for download through link above.