Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method of driving plasma ions and electrons in a field reversed configuration (FRC) magnetic field comprising the steps ofgenerating an FRC about an rotating elongate annular layer of plasma of ions and electrons axially extending within a cylindrical chamber along the longitudinal axis of the chamber, the plasma having a density of 1014 per cubic centimeters or more and wherein the ions in the rotating layer of plasma orbit in betatron orbits normal to the longitudinal axis of the chamber,creating an electric potential wave that penetrates the rotating layer of plasma and rotates in the same direction as the azimuthal velocity of ions in the rotating layer of plasma, wherein the electric potential wave has a wavelength one or more orders of magnitude greater than the radius of the chamber,trapping ions in the rotating layer of plasma in the electric potential wave, andincreasing the momentum and energy of the trapped ions. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of creating an electric potential wave includes energizing a plurality of elongate electrodes forming a cylindrical surface within the chamber. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the plurality of elongate electrodes form an elongate cyclotron. 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the cyclotron is a quadrupole cyclotron. 5. The method of claim 2 wherein the cyclotron is a dipole cyclotron. 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of injecting neutral atoms into the plasma.