Plasma toroid formation by polyphase microwave rotation

Summary form only given. Reported microwave-plasma interactions that simulate ball lightning may point the way to useful applications including improved electrode-less arc lamps and sustained plasma confinement for fusion reactors. While there is no firmly established explanation for ball lightning, one theory is that the balls are toroidal plasma bodies formed by electrical discharge transients and held together by internal current loops and magnetic fields. Toroidal plasma bodies formed by transient processes have been investigated to confine plasma for nuclear fusion. Since no simple way has been found to sustain the direct current internal current loop required for plasma confinement and heating, they are formed and then decay. Rotating conductive plasma generates a voltage loop through BxV dynamo interaction with an ambient steady magnetic field to form standing direct current loops that heat plasma and confine it in a toroid through the IxB pinch effect. This is a testable hypothesis, which, if confirmed, provides a new approach for lamp and fusion confinement systems. It is even possible that it may help understand naturally occurring ball lightning.