Optical measurements of railgun plasma armature in an external magnetic field

Spectroscopic measurements are performed to investigate both the behaviors of railgun plasma armatures with and without an augmented magnetic field. A permanent magnet was used to augment the magnetic field of the railgun. The electron density has been estimated by Stark broadening of the H/sub /spl alpha// line. Average electron density in the augmented railgun is in the order of 1/spl times/10/sup 19/ cm/sup -3/. The electron density in the railgun without an augmentation is much higher than that in the augmented railgun. This high density of the plasma armature makes the performance degrade.