Document Type
Article
Version
Final Published Version
Publication Title
Physics of Plasmas
Volume
29
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
The fluid Taylor scale is measured in the Bryn Mawr Experiment (BMX) of the Bryn Mawr Plasma Laboratory and examined as a potential dissipation scale of magnetic turbulence within the plasma. We present the first laboratory measurements of the Taylor scale of a turbulent magnetized plasma through multi-point correlations of broadband magnetic fluctuations. From spatial and temporal correlations, respectively, the measured Taylor scales are 261 and 361 cm. These measurements are on the same order of magnitude as estimated ion dissipation scales within the BMX plasma with ion inertial scales between 1 and 10 cm and ion gyroscales between 0:1 and 1:0 cm. From these measurements, a magnetic Reynolds number can be computed. Since Taylor scale values are determined using multi-point correlations and a Richardson extrapolation technique, an estimate of the magnetic Reynolds number can be found without the added complication of specifying a model of microscopic diffusivity, a parameter often difficult to obtain experimentally.
Citation
Cartagena-Sanchez, C. A., Carlson, J. M. and D. A. Schaffner. 2022. "Measurement of the Taylor scale in a magnetized turbulent laboratory plasma wind-tunnel." Physics of Plasmas 29.032305.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0073207