Electrical conductivity measurements of strongly coupled W plasmas

Nonideal plasmas of tungsten were produced by vaporizing thin wires of 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm in diameter in small glass capillaries (in air) by means of a short-pulse current from an electrical discharge. For a short period of time, the inner wall of the rigid glass capillary confines the plasma until the induced pressure shock wave disintegrates the capillary. Spectroscopic measurements were carried out on the ejected plasma close to the end of the capillary. The plasma temperature was obtained by fitting a Planck function to the measured continuum spectrum. The resistance was derived from the voltage across the plasma and the current through the plasma. The plasma radius was determined with an intensified charge-coupled device camera and a streak camera and allowed the derivation of the conductivity. Particle densities were of the order of 10(22) particle/cm(3) and electron temperatures were in the range from 10 kK to 22 kK. These measurements are compared with theoretical models and previous work.