The Generation and Use of Pulsed Magnetic Fields

The generation and use of pulsed magnetic fields are surveyed from the very beginning with the work of P. Kapitza. The survey is focused on fields in the megagauss range, including non-destructive fields above half a megagauss where the development is now aimed at approaching the 100-tesla limit. In the open literature, megagauss fields were first reported from an experiment with a capacitor-driven single turn coil. This was followed by explosive-driven magnetic flux compression that consistently generates the highest fields. Electromagnetic flux compression was developed from a modest beginning into a research instrument. By far the largest part of scientific research in megagauss fields was accomplished with the single turn coil after it had been developed into a reliable and practical research instrument. The potential for future development of the different techniques and of some novel techniques is indicated.