HEATING AND CONFINEMENT OF A PLASMA BY ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELDS

摘要

method is proposed in which plasma is confined by an alternating magnetic field. The plasma is field-free except in a thin boundary layer. No diffusion takes place since this boundary is periodically reconstituted by the field, maintaining the penetration depth at the fixed value c/wp At high temperatures, the confining field heats both electrons and ions, preferentially the latter. This heating is very efficient. About half of the total applied power is absorbed by the plasma, the rest being copper losses. The technical feasibility of plasma confinement by alternating magnetic fields is examined, and numerical examples are given.