Experiments with plasma rings

Abstract

The construction of a coaxial plasma gun is described. At its output end the gun is provided with a radial magnetic field, which is trapped by the plasma. The plasma which is shot out from the gun is studied by photographic and magnetic methods. It is demonstrated that the gun produces magnetized plasma rings with the same basic structure as the rings obtained in toroidal pinch experiments. When the the plasma rings are formed, the magnetic field lines from the gun break, a result which is of interest from a theoretical point of view.