7th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Physics, 12-17 Nov., 2023 at Port Messe Nagoya

Experimental Verifications of Parker’s Effect and Applications in Fusion
Martin Storey1, Kooper de Lacy1, Jesse Schelfhout2, David Pfefferlé2, L. R. Owen Storey1
1
Meranti Research Laboratories
2
School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, University of Western Australia
e-mail (speaker): mstorey@meranti-research.net

In the late 1960s, Parker studied an idealised model ofthe flow of the solar wind around Earth’s magnetic field,
focussing on the plane where the flow is parallel to thefield lines. He discovered that, in the thin boundary
layer between the plasma and the field, a secondary
magnetic field would arise, stronger than the primary fieldin the ratio of the flow speed to the ion thermal speed.
This effect causes the boundary layer to become unstable
under certain circumstances [1]. In 1979, Storey and
Cairo suggested that Parker’s Effect may haveapplications to fusion. Specifically, they showed that if
the flowing plasma was confined by the magnetic fieldrather than the inverse, then the effect would reinforce theconfinement [2]. This effect has never been observed
experimentally or in simulation, mainly because it has notbeen sought.

References[1] E.N. Parker. "Dynamical properties of themagnetosphere" In Physics of the Magnetosphere: Basedupon the Proceedings of the Conference Held at Boston
College June 19–28, 1967. Springer Netherlands, 1968.
[2] L.R.O. Storey and L. Cairo. "Kinetic theory of theboundary layer between a flowing isotropic plasma and amagnetic field." Magnetospheric Boundary Layers 148(1979)[3] J.L. Tuck, "Picket Fence." USAEC Report WASH-184(1954): 77.
[4] A. Ivanov and V. Prikhodkho. “Gas-dynamic trap: anoverview of the concept and experimental results”,
Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 55 (2013) 063001

In this poster, several experiments designed to confirm
the reality of Parker’s Effect and to investigate thestability of the equilibrium of the boundary layer will bepresented, together with latest results. They are mainlycomputer simulations (Figure 1), and some laboratory
experiments.
Two concepts for possible devices exploiting this effect,
provisionally named the Plasma Storage Ring (PSR) andthe Plasma Storage Tube (PST), will also be presented, forcomments and criticism.
The PSR would resemble superficially prior reactor
concepts such as tokamaks; however, it would befundamentally different because based on a new type of zpinch, wherein the bulk of the confined plasma isotropic
and all the confining magnetic field is concentrated in athin static boundary layer, resulting in a moreenergetically efficient and more stable confinement(Figure 2). The PSR would also resemble the “movingpicket fence” proposed by James Tuck [3], with thedifference that the multipolar magnetic field lining thewalls of the plasma chamber would be stationary and theplasma moving.

Figure 1. Simple system to evaluate the suggested
method of plasma confinement.

The PST would resemble the Gas Dynamic Trap
developed at Novosibirsk in Russia [4]. This device hasaxial symmetry. Again, the main difference is that thebulk of the confined plasma would be isotropic.

Figure 2. Schema of Plasma Storage Ring concept.