Review of spheromak research

Spheromak research from 1979 to the present is reviewed including over I60 references. Emphasis is on understanding and interpretation of results. In addition to summarizing results some new interpretations are presented. An introduction and brief history is followed by a discussion of generalized helicity and its time derivative. Formation and sustainment are discussed including five different methods, flux core, theta -pinch z-pinch, coaxial source, conical theta -pinch, and kinked z-pinch. All methods use helicity injections. Steady-state methods and rules for designing spheromak experiments are covered, followed by equilibrium and stability. Methods of stabilizing the tilt and shift modes are discussed as well as their impact on the reactor designs. Current-driven and pressure-driven instabilities as well as relaxation in general are covered. Energy confinement is discussed in terms of helicity decay time and and beta s limits. The confinement in high and low open-flux geometries are compared and the reactor implications discussed.