Characterisation of plasma in a rail gun

The mechanism of plasma and projectile acceleration in a DC rail gun is described from a microscopic point of view through the establishment of the Hall field. The plasma conductivity is shown to be a tensor, indicating that there is a small component of current parallel to the direction of acceleration. The plasma characteristics are evaluated in the experiment of Bauer et al. as a function of plasma mass through a simple fluid mechanical analysis of the plasma. By equating the energy dissipated in the plasma with the radiation heat loss, the properties of the plasma are determined.