RESEARCH NOTES: Magnetic configurations and the energy loss problem in the toroidal pinched discharge

A study is made of the elucidation of energy loss processes in the toroidal pinched discharge. The study is accomplished by making magnetic probe measurements of the torus walls in order to determine the magnetic field irregularities at various points along the discharge column. Results of measurements in Sceptre III show that the magnetic configurations of the azimuthal and axial components of field are generally similar. The experiment shows that geometrical irregularities are unimportant in producing a current drain to the walls of a magnitude resolvable by the probe technique. Plots are given of the azimuthal and axial fields showing the existence of a fairly uniformly conducting, contracted current channel. (N.W.R.)