Dynamic model for plasma opening switches

A dynamic model for plasma opening switches is proposed. The basis of the model is the appearance and development of force instabilities (pinch and sausage) in a spatially nonuniform plasma accelerated by a magnetic field as a driver piston. The proposed model does not require the invocation of subtle effects in the pinch collapse phase and makes it possible, without going beyond the framework of magnetohydrodynamics, to explain the principal operating features of plasma opening switches and to obtain quantitative estimates consistent with experiment. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 25–29 (May 1999)