Particle diffusion in a spheromak

The local carbon particle diffusion coefficient was measured in the Proto S-1/C spheromak with use of a test-particle injection scheme. When the plasma was not in a force-free Taylor state, and when there were pressure gradients in the plasma, the particle diffusion was 5 times that predicted by Bohm and was consistent with collisional drift-wave diffusion. The diffusion appears to be driven by correlations of the fluctuating electric field and density. During the decay of the discharge when the plasma was in the Taylor state, the diffusion coefficient of the carbon was classical.