Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Quasi-single-helicity reversed-field-pinch plasmas
1Consorzio RFX-Corso Stati Uniti, 4, 35127 Padova, Italy and CNRS-Universite de Provence, Marseille, France.
Abstract:
The reversed field pinch (RFP) is a configuration for plasma magnetic confinement. It has been traditionally viewed as dominated by a bath of MHD instabilities producing magnetic chaos and high energy transport. We report experimental results which go beyond this view. They show a decrease of magnetic chaos and the formation of a coherent helical structure in the plasma, whose imaging and temperature profile are provided for the first time. These quasi-single-helicity states are observed both transiently and in stationary conditions. The last case is consistent with a theoretically predicted bifurcation. Our results set a new frame for improving confinement in high current nonchaotic RFP's.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Magnetic Force Between Two Parallel Currents
The force exerted by the magnetic field due to the first conductor over a finite length of the second conductor is given as the product of the current in the second conductor and the vector product of the length vector along the current element and the field due to the first conductor. According to the...
Induced Electric Fields: Applications
Magnetic Field due to Moving Charges
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...
Electric Field of Parallel Conducting Plates
Consider a cross-section of a thin, infinite conducting plate having a positive charge. For such a large thin plate, as the thickness of the plate tends to zero, the positive charges lie on the plate's two large faces. Without an external electric field, the...

