CO2 laser-plasma interactions in a strong magnetic field

The purpose of the CO2 laser-heated plasma experiment at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is to investigate physical and technical questions relating to the possibility of developing a laser-heated, magnetically confined fusion reactor. The case of a long, thin plasma column, confined radially by a strong, essentially steady-state, magnetic field, and surrounded by a neutral gas or cold plasma blanket is considered. The plasma is to be produced and/or heated from one or both ends by the focused beam of a pulsed CO2 laser. Technical and experimental progress is reported