Beschleunigung von Elektronen in einem Plasmabetatron
A plasma was produced by a high frequency electric quadrupole field (v=200 Megacycles) at gas pressures of 10−4 to 5·10−3 mm Hg in a quarz glass torus. The torus was placed between the poles of an air-core betatron with the following properties: radius of equilibrium orbit 20 cm, maximum accelerating field strength 80 V/cm, end energy 1.5 MeV. Associated with conduction currents of some 100 A, energetic Bremsstrahlung was observed and attributed to 1,2 MeV electrons. The number of accelerated electrons was of the order of 1011 per pulse. The intensity and energy of the radiation, together with the time dependence of the plasma current, were observed as function of different parameters, such as the gas pressure, high frequency amplitude, induced acceleration field strength, for different gases. The energetic radiation disappears when, because of the self-induced magnetic field, the stability condition for the betatron equilibrium is no longer fulfilled.