Parallel energy analyzer for pure electron plasma devices

A technique is presented for measuring the parallel energy distribution of magnetically confined electrons in a cylindrically symmetric pure electron plasma. In essence, the technique measures how many electrons are energetic enough to escape past applied confinement potentials. The technique does not require any secondary magnetic fields. Simplified variations of the technique are also presented which can be used at the expense of some loss of information. These techniques have been successfully used in three experimental contexts.