Study of the motion of a plasmoid by the SHF method

G. E. Markvardt

Abstract
The velocity of a plasmoid along the guide electrodes of a rail gun has been measured as a function of time. The velocity was determined by the Doppler shift of the frequency of a SHF signal reflected from the plasmoid, The measurement results agree with the calculation in [8], which takes into account the friction of the plasmoid and the change in its mass due to diffuse scattering and the trapping of electrode material. Figs 4, Refs 11.