Adiabatic plasma expansion in a magnetic nozzle

Summary form only given. A mechanism for ambipolar ion acceleration in a magnetic nozzle is proposed. The plasma is adiabatic in the diverging section of a magnetic nozzle so any energy lost by the electrons must be transferred to the ions via the electric field. Fluid theory indicates that the chan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	2014 IEEE 41st International Conference on Plasma Sciences (ICOPS) held with 2014 IEEE International Conference on High-Power Particle Beams (BEAMS) p. 1
Main Authors:	Sheehan, J. P., Longmier, Benjamin W., Bering, Edgar A., Olsen, Christopher S., Squire, Jared P., Carter, Mark D., Cassady, Leonard D., Chang Diaz, Franklin R., Glover, Tim W., Hin, Andrew V., Ballenger, Maxwell G.
Format:	Conference Proceeding
Language:	English
Published:	IEEE 01-05-2014
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Summary form only given. A mechanism for ambipolar ion acceleration in a magnetic nozzle is proposed. The plasma is adiabatic in the diverging section of a magnetic nozzle so any energy lost by the electrons must be transferred to the ions via the electric field. Fluid theory indicates that the change in average electron energy equals the change in plasma potential. These predictions were compared to measurements in the VX-200 experiment which has conditions conducive to ambipolar ion acceleration. A planar Langmuir probe was used to measure the plasma potential, electron density, and electron temperature for a range of mass flow rates and power levels. Axial profiles of those parameters were also measured, verifying the adiabatic ambipolar fluid theory.
ISBN:	9781479927111 1479927112
ISSN:	0730-9244 2576-7208
DOI:	10.1109/PLASMA.2014.7012590