CALCULATIONS OF GAS CONDUCTIVITY IN MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC SHOCK PRODUCING DEVICES

The simple scalar conductivity based on electron collisions with other particles is shown to be the governing parameter in determining current sheet diffusion and energy dissipation in magnetohydrodynamic shock producing devices. Simple methods are developed for calculating this scalar conductivity based on previous similarity solutions and experimental measurements of current sheet growth. These methods are shown to be applicable to inverse pinch experiments described in an accompanying paper, where the gas velocity in regions of the current sheet is constant. The position of the shock, through its influence on the gas velocity, is shown to exert a dominant influence on the current sheet diffusion.