Experimental study of confinement and stability of a high density plasma in a multiple mirror magnetic field configuration

Multiple mirror magnetic confinement is investigated experimentally with a 10 eV, 1013cm-3 hydrogen plasma produced by a Theta Pinch source. Partial plasma stability was achieved with a linked quadrupole field which also enhanced radial losses. A theory was developed for the classical radial losses. Its results, inserted in a numerical simulation of the experiment, agreed quantitatively with the observed losses. A Theta Pinch plasma source was designed to allow transient experiments on the seven cells, two meter long multiple mirror at Berkeley, in a density range 1013 to 1014cm-3. The gun output at the end of the guide field between the Theta Pinch coil and the multiple mirror region was a sharp plasma pulse of intensity approximately 1014cm-3 with a ratio of drift to thermal velocity close to unity