Z-Pinches
A
current passing through a vaporized wire or other cylindrical plasma
generates a poloidal magnetic field that interacts with the current,
generating a Lorentz force in the direction of the current axis
- the result is a self-pinched plasma (e.g. lightning) - and the on-axis
compression can generate a shock wave, that efficiently converts
the magnetic energy to heat, and then X-rays.
E x B force
wires
B-field
Z-axis; net current;
foam