Production of High-Energy Plasmas by Magnetically Driven Shock Waves

High-voltage discharges (5-100 kilovolts) with peak currents in 0.3 to 5 microseconds have been used to produce shock waves in deuterium plasmas. The discharge is struck in a transverse magnetic field and the resultant Lorentz force drives the plasma out of the region of the discharge into a quartz side arm. Velocity measurements of the magnetically driven plasma are discussed in relation to the parameters of the discharge. These measurements indicate that deuterium plasma with ion energies >100 ev/ion at densities >5×${10}^{16}$ ions/${\mathrm{cm}}^3$ can be produced by this method.