Laboratory Experiments of KAWs

The existence of AWs, as electromagnetic hydrodynamic waves, was predicted first by Alfven in (1942), however, the experimental study in laboratory had not been made until 1949. One of important reasons for this delay is that the long wavelength and low frequency characteristics of AWs make them very difficult to study experimentally in laboratory. The similar case happened on KAWs. When KAWs were discovered in 1970’s, their ability to heat plasma particles attracted attention of researches.