Title :
Compact toroid generation using long pulses
Author_Institution :
Electron Power Syst. Inc., Acton, MA, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given, as follows. Long duration higher power pulses have been used to create compact toroids. Pulses of 1300 amperes and up to 500 volts have been generated for 150 milliseconds duration. Pressure is held to 0.01 to 0.001 atmosphere. Compact toroids are observed under these conditions to last for more than 200 milliseconds. Their diameter is measured to be 5 mm. An explanation is proposed that the compact toroids are electron spiral toroids (ESTs). The EST is a hollow toroid of electrons created in a plasma. It is proposed that all electrons travel in parallel paths orthogonal to the toroid circumference, and reside in the outer shell of the toroid in a thin sheet. The proposed EST explanation quantitatively describes the compact toroids, It explains how the EST can be a stable current ring in high atmosphere with no external magnetic fields, and how the EST can hold many electrons with high energy. Ball lightning (BL) is often reported (15% of sightings) as a ring, and since a spinning ring appears as a sphere or ball, the EST is a candidate for the BL explanation. This paper describes the work to confirm the EST explanation. Discussed are formulas, a proposed initiation method, and experimental results.
Keywords :
plasma toroidal confinement; ball lightning; compact toroid generation; electron spiral toroids; hollow toroid; initiation method; long pulses; plasma; spinning ring; Atmosphere; Atmospheric measurements; Electrons; Lightning; Plasma measurements; Plasma stability; Pulse generation; Spinning; Spirals; Toroidal magnetic fields;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 1996. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts., 1996 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3322-5
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.1996.550672