Large magnetic fields generated by z-pinch flux compression

Experiments to generate large magnetic fields by flux compression have been performed in two z-pinch configurations: (i) a novel plasma liner developed from a thin cylindrical surfactant film and (ii) a conventional gas pinch formed in a uniform cylinder of gas. The apparatus, experiments, and the results obtained are described in this article. A comprehensive investigation of the gas pinch shows that an optimum set of conditions exists, for given discharge parameters, for obtaining the highest magnetic field. The scaling of the attainable peak magnetic field with discharge parameters is obtained experimentally and compared with simplified models of the compression. Using a current of 500 kA with τ1/4=2 μs, an initial magnetic field of 0.3 T has been compressed to 38 T, demonstrating a compression ratio of over 120.