Toroidal Laboratory Magnetized Plasma with StabiliZed by Sheared B-field lines

A thermionic plasma is created in a toroidal vessel with toroidal magnetic field. A central conductor creates a poloidal magnetic field (rotational transform) when the toroidal current is increased. This configuration reproduces the topology of the tokamak. The fluctuations are at high level (20%) when the B-field lines are circles at zero toroidal current. Increasing progressively the torsion of the field lines (increasing the toroidal current) the fluctuation level decreases rapidly. This is the very first observation of the stabilization of a magnetized toroidal plasma (CNRS, UMR 7345, 2008).