Particle Loss in the Levitated Spherator FM-1

Abstract

The plasma confinement times were studied in the levitated spherator FM-1 as a function of the electron density and electron temperature. It was found that below approximately 1 eV, the plasma confinement time is proportional to $\frac{{{T}_{e}}^{m}}{{n}_{e}}(\frac{1}{2}<~m<~\frac{3}{4})$ with an absolute confinement time 4-6 times below the classical confinement time. Above 1 eV the confinement time decreases as ${{T}_{e}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ with an absolute confinement of 300 times the so-called Bohm diffusion time.