Acceleration of Rotating Plasma Flows in Crossed Magnetic Fields

In the previous investigations, an intermode exchange was used to demonstrate the transfer of energy and momentum into using different kinematic degrees of freedom. This paper examines using a hydrodynamic approach using a cold, neutral flow in a rotating cylindrical plasma column using crossed magnetic fields. Results show that the twirling plasma flow in a cylindrical vortex can be accelerated in an axial direction, thereby resulting an energy/momentum transfer in the axial direction. These results are analogous to the creation of a plasma thruster using this effect.