Plasmas are a hot, ionized gas that conducts electric currents, as in a spark or bolt of lightning; they can reach temperatures of millions of degrees. Sending a large electric current through a fine wire vaporizes it, producing a dense plasma confined by the magnetic field the current generates. The direction along the wire (and the current) is generally referred to as the z-axis, hence the name z-pinch for the magnetic interaction that confines the plasma along the z-axis. Such plasmas can produce intense radiation over a wide spectrum and also show promise of leading to conditions for controlled nuclear fusion.
| Author: Michael A. Liberman |
| Publisher: Springer |
| Publication Date: Oct 17, 2012 |
| Number of Pages: 277 pages |
| Binding: Paperback or Softback |
| ISBN-10: 146127138X |
| ISBN-13: 9781461271383 |
