Apparatus for measuring the electrical properties of a conductive moving fluid

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF AN IONIZED, MOVING PLASMA FLOWING ADJACENT TO AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE WALL WHEN THE VELOCITY THEREOF IS KNOWN COMPRISING MEANS FOR GENERATING A TIME VARIANT MAGNETIC FIELD EXTENDING INTO A PLASMA REGION, SENSING MEANS LOCATED IN A POSITION WHERE THE MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH IS A MINIMUM IN THE ABSENCE OF THE MOVING PLASMA AND RESPONSIVE TO A DISTORTION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD BY THE MOVING PLASMA RESULTING FROM AN INDUCED CURRENT DENSITY AUXB WITHIN THE PLASMA IN RESPONSE TO AN INDUCED ELECTRIC FIELD UXB WHERE B IS THE MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY, U IS THE PLASMA VELOCITY, AND A IS THE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF THE PLASMA, AND COIL MEANS LINKING SAID TIME VARIANT MAGNETIC FIELD FOR REDUCING SAID MINIMUM MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY TO ZERO BY COMPENSATING FOR VARIATIONS IN THE FIELD GENERATING MEANS AND FOR THE UNWANTED EFFECTS OF INDUCED EDDY CURRENTS IN SAID ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE WALL.