Stabilizing windings for tilting and shifting modes

Claim 1

In an inductively formed plasma ring system, a plasma ring being capable of tilting and shifting and having a major axis, externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of the plasma ring, and internal plasma currents that interact so as to cause at least one of said tilting and said shifting of the plasma ring relative to the externally produced equilibrium fields so as to produce at least one of said unstable tilting and said shifting modes in the plasma ring, a stabilizing means for said plasma ring; the improvement in said stabilizing means comprising: a. first, passive, conducting loops in magnetic communication with said modes so as to have produced therein, in response to at least one of said tilting and said shifting modes of said plasma ring first endless induced currents traveling in a first direction corresponding to the direction of first ones of said tilting and said shifting modes of the plasma ring; said endless induced currents providing additional magnetic fields that produce restoring forces for impeding at least one of said first tilting and said first shifting modes when said first, passive, conducting loops are held fixed in a stationary position relative to the externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of said plasma ring; b. second, passive, conducting loops transverse to said first, passive, conducting loops in magnetic communication with said modes so as to have produced therein, in response to at least one of said tilting and said shifting modes of said plasma ring, second endless induced currents traveling in a second direction corresponding to the direction of second ones of said unstable tilting and said shifting modes of the plasma ring; said first and said second conducting loops forming figure-8 shaped loops having axes that are transverse to each other and positioned along the major axis of said plasma ring, on opposite sides thereof; said induced currents providing still additional magnetic fields that produce restoring forces for counteracting ones of said second tilting and said second shifting modes when said second, passive, conducting loops are held fixed in a stationary position relative to the externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of said plasma ring; and c. means for holding the first and second passive conducting loops fixed in stationary positions relative to said externally produced equilibrium fields on opposite sides of said plasma ring for causing said first and second induced currents to counteract at least one of said tilting and said shifting modes of the plasma ring.