Plasma Containment in the Princeton Spherator using a Supported Superconducting Ring

Investigation of plasma confinement in the Princeton spherator by use of a supported superconducting ring shows that about 90% of the total particles are lost to the supports, and thus the particle loss across the magnetic field is reduced to about 10% of the total loss under the best operating conditions. An hypothesis-in terms of convective cells, which are established by the presence of supports-is proposed to explain the observed plasma loss.