Continuum Radiation in the X Ray and Visible Regions from a Magnetically Compressed Plasma (Scylla)

The identification of a sharp low-wavelength cutoff in the spectrum of x rays emitted from deuterium discharges in Scylla has resulted in the assignment of an electron temperature of 240±40 ev at the time of peak magnetic field compression. Simultaneous time-resolved absolute intensity determinations in the visible continuum, when coupled with the temperature measurement, yield an upper limit electron number density of (5±1)×${10}^{16}$/${\mathrm{cm}}^3$ at peak compression. The absolute value of $\frac{\mathrm{dE}}{d\lambda }$ in the soft x ray region is two hundred times larger than bremsstrahlung from a pure deuterium plasma at the temperature and density quoted, and it is postulated that the large experimental $\frac{\mathrm{dE}}{d\lambda }$ is the result of recombination radiation from about 2% of oxygen contaminant from the discharge tube walls.