Toroidal arc apparatus

Claim 1

AN ELECTRIC ARC GAS HEATER WHICH COMPRISES A HOLLOW, ELONGATED FLUID-COOLED, NON-CONSUMABLE STICK ELECTRODE, A CHAMBER SURROUNDING SAID ELECTRODE AT ONE END THEREOF, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A STREAM OF GAS TO SAID CHAMBER, AN ELONGATED, FLUID-COOLED NOZZLE ELECTRODE SURROUNDING SAID STICK ELECTRODE COAXIALLY THEREWITH AND FORMING AN ELONGATED ANNULAR ARC PATH THEREBETWEEN, SAID NOZZLE ELECTRODE BEING LOCATED ADJACENT THE CHAMBER AND EXTENDING TOWARD THE OTHER END OF THE STICK ELECTRODE, FLOW-RESTRICTION MEANS BETWEEN THE CHAMBER AND THE NOZZLE ELECTRODE FOR DIRECTING THE GAS STREAM IN AN ANNULAR FLOW PATTERN INTO THE ANNULAR ARC PATH SURROUNDING SAID STOCK ELECTRODE, A FLUID-COOLED PLENUM CHAMBER ATTACHED AT ONE END TO THE NOZZLE ELECTRODE, COAXIAL WITH AND SURROUNDING THE OTHER END OF THE STICK ELECTRODE, AND CLOSURE MEANS AT THE OTHER END OF SAID PLENUM CHAMBER CONTAINING A NOZZLE MEANS MOUNTED COAXIALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLENUM CHAMBER AXIALLY SPACED FROM SAID ADJACENT END OF THE STOCK ELECTRODE, MEANS ELECTRICALLY INSULATING THE FIRST CHAMBER, THE STICK ELECTRODE, THE NOZZLE ELECTRODE, AND THE PLENUM CHAMBER FROM EACH OTHER, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER TO THE STICK ELECTRODE AND THE NOZZLE ELECTRODE, AND MEANS FOR PROVIDING A STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE ANNULAR ARC PATH HAVING LINES OF FORCE PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID STICK ELECTRODE.