Velocity of Plasma Rotation in Reflex Discharge with Themionic Cathode

This work is devoted to determining the azimuthal ion rotation velo city in a reflex discharge with a thermionic cathode. For the experimental determination of the ion velo city, a Mach probe with directional particle collection was used. The Mach probe rotation velocity measurements are compared with the drift speed in crossed E × B fields, where the radial electric field is measured with an emissive probe. The rotation of the plasma was found to be predominantly due to this drift, corrected for centrifugal effects. One of the important results of the work is the determination of the ion temperature. The obtained value T i = 0 . 12 eV, agrees with the ion temperature estimates in works with similar experimental conditions. A general parameter has been obtained that makes it possible to estimate the necessity to take into account centrifugal effects under given conditions.