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Updated: Apr 26, 2026

A 100 KW Class Applied-field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster
Published on: December 22, 2018
Interpenetration, deflection, and stagnation of cylindrically convergent magnetized supersonic tungsten plasma flows
G F Swadling1, S V Lebedev1, A J Harvey-Thompson2
1Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The interpenetration and interaction of supersonic, magnetized tungsten plasma flows has been directly observed via spatially and temporally resolved measurements of the Thomson scattering ion feature. A novel scattering geometry allows independent measurements of the axial and radial velocity components of the ions. The plasma flows are produced via the pulsed power driven ablation of fine tungsten wires in a cylindrical wire array z pinch. Fits of the data reveal the variations in radial velocity, axial velocity, and temperature of the ion streams as they interpenetrate and interact. A previously unobserved increase in axial velocity is measured near the array axis. This may be the result of v[over →]×B[over →] bending of the ion streams by a toroidal magnetic field, advected to and accumulated about the axis by the streams.
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