Plasmoid Dipole Rotation in a Theta Pinch

The behavior of the toroidal plasmoid formed in a theta pinch due to trapping of magnetic field lines has been photographed with an ultra-high-speed image-converter camera. Photographs show the plasma ring rotating about an axis perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. This rotation is seen not only as a possible explanation for the sudden disappearance of the trapped magnetic field, but as a mechanism for accelerating the ions caught in the plasmoid. A preliminary analysis provides an upper bound to the ion energies obtainable through such a mechanism.