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Formation Mechanism of Dense High-Speed Plasma Flow in Tapered Capillary Discharge

Koichiro ADACHI, Mitsuo NAKAJIMA, Tohru KAWAMURA and Kazuhiko HORIOKA

Department of Energy Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan

(Received 1 March 2011 / Accepted 30 March 2011 / Published 10 May 2011)

Abstract

We propose a new type of plasma source using a pinch discharge in a tapered capillary, which generates a dense moving plasma by electromagnetic compression and acceleration. The axial velocity and flux of the moving plasma are controllable and can be maximized by adjusting the taper angle. The behavior can be illustrated with a simple model considering the pinching dynamics of the current sheet.

Copyright (c) 2011 The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research

Keywords

moving plasma, pulse power device, z-pinch, laboratory astrophysics

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.6.1201019

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References

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This paper may be cited as follows:

Koichiro ADACHI, Mitsuo NAKAJIMA, Tohru KAWAMURA and Kazuhiko HORIOKA, Plasma Fusion Res. 6, 1201019 (2011).