Energy confinement time of a plasma as a function of the discharge parameters in Tokamak-3

The authors investigate the thermal insulation of plasmas in Tokamak-3, taking as thermal insulation parameter the energy confinement time ofthe plasma τ E and relating it to the discharge parameters: the stabilizing magnetic field H z , the charged particle density n e and the discharge current I. It is found that for n e ≥ 2 × l0 13 cm −3 τ E is virtually independent of H z , for n e = (l-5) × 10 13 cm −3 τ E increases somewhat with n e and in proportion to I. The experimental results fit the empirical formula τ E ∼a 2 H φ .