The Maryland Centrifugal Experiment(MCX)

We report new results on MCX : a) measurements of ion rotational velocity profiles show parabolic radial profiles that demonstrate shear in the plasma rotation exceeds the critical value for shear stabilization; b) measurements of the velocity profile also show the plasma may not be undergoing isorotation , a departure from ideal MHD; c) a new insulator has eliminated the transition from high-rotation (HR) mode to low rotation(O) mode; d) the scaling of maximum rotational velocity with applied voltage and B shows that rotational velocity is clearly limited from above by the Alfven velocity but determining if the critical ionization phenomena is operable is not conclusive. We also report on: a) plans to launch a plasma jet from a newly constructed gun to impart momentum directly to MCX and b) magnetic probe measurements of fluctuations at a variety of azimuthal, radial, and axial locations to evaluate MHD stability and its relation to velocity profiles. Plans for higher voltages and higher B fields will be discussed.