The Measurement of Radial Temperature Variationsin a Non-Neutral Plasma.

Abstract

One area of plasma study is that of radial transport, which is the radial loss of electrons. There is a large discrepancy between the theory and empirical data for radial flux. Research is currently focused on finding an explanation for this difference. Our research investigated whether radial variances in the plasma temperature contributes to radial transport. We completed various experiments with different parameters. After examining the results of our data we concluded that the correction term generated by the temperature variation is insignificant compared to the discrepancy in the theoretical expression for flux. Despite not finding the missing term to the theoretical expression for flux, this conclusion is significant because it eliminates a possible explanation for the discrepancy. Research continues with experiments involving ?squeeze? potentials, which lower the amount of transport, and the possible decrease in transport caused by an additional radial magnetic field.