Section 2

PLASMA

EDGE EXPERIMENTS

- ACTIVE PROBES

Journal of Nuclear Materials 111 & 112 (1982) 11-22

North-Holland
Publishing Company

11

HIGH SPEED CINE FILM STUDIES OF PLASMA BEHAVIOUR

SURFACE INTERACTIONS IN TOKAMAKS
D.H.J.

AND PLASMA

GOODALL

Culham Luboratoty,

Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB, UK (Euratom / VKA EA Fusion Association)

High speed tine photography

is a useful diagnostic aid for studying plasma behaviour
Several workers have filmed discharges in tokamaks including ASDEX, DITE, DIVA, ISX,
are discussed and examples given of the observed phenomena
which include plasma limiter
disruptions,
magnetic islands and moving glowing objects often known as UFOs. Examples
and DITE not previously published are also given. The paper also reports experiments
in
UFOs.

1. Introduction
High speed tine photography
of tokamak discharges
is a simple and effective way of obtaining information
on plasma behaviour and plasma surface interactions.
The use of time markers and event markers on the film
enables visual events to be correlated
with other diagnostic data e.g. plasma movement, density, loop voltage and MHD activity. Such filmed discharges
can
therefore yield much more information
than is possible
with still photography,
especially when studying disruptive behaviour
where gross changes are observed in
times less than one millisecond.
In practice a disadvantage
of tine film is the delay
between exposing and viewing the film. Video recording
offers the possibility
of immediate
playback but at
present it is not possible to make high speed colour
recordings.
Some progress has been made with high
speed monochrome
recording and full frame pictures of
192 by 240 pixels (picture elements) at 2000 frames per
second have been reported [ 1,2]. Even at this definition
the data transfer is demanding and requires a 34 track
tape recorder with the tape running at 240 inches per
second. Such a system might well be valuable for routine
instant replay of plasma discharges, using colour tine
film with its higher definition, sensitivity and framing
rate, when interesting
phenomena
are observed. Only
observations
using tine film will however be reported
here.
Discharges have been filmed in a number of tokamaks including PLT, DIVA, JFT2, ISX, TFR, ASDEX
and DITE but there has been little published discussion

0022-3 115/82/0000-0000/$02.75

0 1982 North-Holland

and plasma surface interactions.

JFTZ, TFR and PLT. These films
interactions,
diverted discharges,
of plasma structures in ASDEX
DITE to determine the origin of

of the observations.
This paper will concentrate mainly
on ASDEX
and DITE discharges
which represent
poloidal and bundle divertors and toroidal and poloidal
limiters.

2. Filming requirements
In normal tine cameras, the exposure takes place
while the film is stationary, limiting film speeds to 500
pictures per second, as at higher speeds the discontinuous motion makes too much demand on the mechanical
properties
of the film. Films of plasma discharges require film speeds exceeding 1000 frames per second and
preferably in the range 3000-5000 fps with even higher
speeds for filming fast events such as disruptions. Several
commercial cameras are available which are suitable for
such speeds, using rotating prisms which sweep the
picture in the direction in which the film is travelling,
thus producing a stationary image on the continuously
moving film. By starting the camera motors 0.5 to 1.0 s
before the discharge the film has time to accelerate to
the required speed at the start of the discharge. The film
capacity of the camera is important at high speeds and
long discharge times if the whole discharge is to be
filmed. To film the DITE discharge (0.2 s) at 3000
pictures per second requires a capacity of 100 feet while
ASDEX (3 s) and JET (10 s) will require 300 and 800
feet of film respectively.
Apart from the length of film, the limit to the film
speed will be determined by the light available from the
plasma and the f number of the camera optics. Film

12

D. H.J. Good&l / High speed tine film studies

speeds of 8000 pictures per second at f/2 were found to

be possible with DITE discharges. It was however found
to be necessary to use a reversal film with a speed of
400 ASA in order to obtain a suitable exposure at these
speeds. Some regions of the torus will, however, emit
light at high intensity e.g. limiter surfaces, gas puffing
positions etc. and film speed will not therefore be a
problem when filming at these locations.
For correlations
between filmed events and other
diagnostics it is essential to provide time markers on the
edge of the film. A I kHz oscillator driving neon lamps
or light emitting diodes, providing markers every millisecond, is very suitable for this purpose and interpolation between markers gives the required accuracy of
timing. Single events can be marked on the film where a
signal from another diagnostic is available which may
be synchronised with a visual event.
When the plasma is viewed through a tangential
window, the cross section of the plasma can be observed
and it is particularly interesting if the region near limiters
can be filmed. It is essential to locate the camera in a
region of low magnetic field if damage to the camera
and erratic running is to be avoided. This is best achieved
by viewing the plasma through a long large bore tangential tube with a window outside the toroidal field coils.
Where this is impossible and some separation is necessary between the camera and the window, the field of
view may be restricted by either the window aperture or
the collimating effect of a tube joining the window to
the torus. This can be avoided by using an optical relay
system which should be carefully designed to avoid
vignetting and reducing the effective aperture of the
camera.

3. Observations
3.1. Limiter discharges
Limiter discharges
have been filmed in several
tokamaks
with various types of limiters including
poloidal, toroidal. rail and mushroom limiters.
Discharges with large poloidal limiters in ASDEX
and DITE are very similar in appearance with a bright
region near the limiter surface facing the plasma. This
region of intense visible radiation is probably due in
part to the excitation of recycled plasma at the limiter

Fig. 1. Discharges with large poloidal limiters. (a) DITE (I, =

100 kA, max%,=2.2X109
mm3); (b) ASDEX (I,=240
kA.
max ?ie =3.1 X lOI me3).

D. H. J. Goodall / High speed tine film studies

but is dominated
by the excitation
of sputtered,
evaporated or thermally desorbed atoms. The colour of
the glow is a blue white, unlike the red colour of the H,
radiation
from the outer region of the plasma. The
glowing region has a width of 1.5 to 2 cm which does
not change significantly during the discharge except for
a broadening
during disruptions
or at the end of the
current pulse. Discharges in DITE show a correlation
between TiI and TiII radiation from the plasma and the
intensity of the glow around the titanium fixed limiters.
Similarly Fe and 0 radiation has been observed from
the glow around a stainless steel toroidal limiter in
ASDEX [3] but in neither case was a full spectral
analysis made. Fig. 1 shows two large poloidal limiter
discharges for (a) DITE (inner limiter) [4] (b) ASDEX
(inner limiter) [5]. In DITE limiter discharges a fluttering in the outer region of the plasma is frequently
observed. With the exception of ASDEX where some
fluttering was observed near the outer limiter in diverted discharges and possibly in ISX near limiters, this
flutter has not been observed in other tokamaks but this
may be due to the available films lacking the necessary
definition or viewpoint to show this phenomenon.
In addition to the large fixed poloidal limiters, DITE
has a pair of movable graphite limiters with each limiter
subtending
an angle of 80 compared with 144 for
each individual fixed limiter. Fig. 2 shows a single graphite limiter in DITE when pushed in beyond the fixed
limiter to a minor radius of 20 cm. The glow around the
fixed limiter has disappeared
and the scrape-off layer of
the movable limiter can be seen. When projected the
film of the discharge from which fig. 2 was taken [4]
shows a distinct dark region or void near the inner wall
and at a position representing
a rotation from 60-90
from the geometric centre of the limiter. This angle is
reasonably
well correlated
with the rotation expected
from the safety factor of the discharge at the limiter, qa,
which suggests that the void is the shadow of the limiter
having
made one rotation
around
the major circumference of the torus. Increasing the minor radius of
the carbon limiter moves the void towards the torus wall
as expected. Fig. 3 shows the calculated q values from
the plasma current compared with the q value given by
the void position.
There are many examples of films of strong plasma
limiter interactions.
One example is shown in fig. 4 for
the ASDEX outer limiter, where numerous large glowing objects from the limiter enter the plasma causing
cooling and a high impurity content and finally disruptions which prematurely end the discharge [S]. Brightspots were also observed on this limiter throughout this
particular discharge. The origin of these spots is uncer-

13

Fig. 2. A discharge in DITE at t = 12 ms with an adjustable

graphite limiter at 20 cm minor radius (I, =80 kA. max A, =
2.7X lOI mP3).

+I-

-& /
,4

/
/

Yt++
++

3
q (plasma

current)

Fig. 3. The q of the discharge

shadow position.

calculated

from

the limiter

14

D. H. J. Goodall / High speed cme film studies

Fig. 4. Plasma surface interactions at the outer ASDEX poloidal

limiter (I,=225 kA, maxii,=1.9X109
mw3).

tain but since at the end of the discharge they disappear

rapidly without going through a glowing red stage their
behaviour is inconsistent
with incandescent
hot spots.
Arcing, unless due to multiple arcing, is also unlikely
because the stationary
spots persist for most of the
discharge, unlike arcs which are of short duration and
move in magnetic fields [8]. The position above the
median plane makes bombardment
by runaway electron
beams unlikely since runaway damage is expected to
occur on this plane. The stainless steel limiter used in
this discharge has a segmented active face with individual elements 4 cm long and the bright spots appear to
correspond
to individual segments. The restricted heat
flow between segments could result in some elements
having a high temperature producing an enhanced thermal desorption
and a localised glow near the limiter
surface.
Strong plasma limiter interactions
have also been
filmed for mushroom limiters in ISX [6] and JFT2 [7].
Both ISX and JFT2 teams report arcing on the limiter
and glowing particles originating from the limiter are
also seen. Arcing in DITE has been shown to occur
mainly at the start of the discharge and to have a
duration - 200 ps (8.91. Arcs would therefore appear on
single frames of a tine film exposed at 3000 fps and can
therefore only be detected by a careful frame-by-frame
study. Since arcs occur predominantly
on the limiter in
DITE [lo]. they are difficult to see against the limiter
glow. Some examples have however been seen early in
the discharge when light levels are low and the arcs are
the brightest objects present. Fig. 5 shows an example of
such arcs.

Fig, 5. Arcs near the fixed limiter in DITE, (a) f =O. (b)
ms. (c) t =0.6 ms, (d) I ~0.9 ms.

I =0.3

D. H. J. Goodall / High speed tine film studies

15

3.2. Diverted discharges

Two poloidal
divertor experiments,
ASDEX
and
DIVA, have been filmed, fig. 6 shows the cross section
of both machines. In both cases the visible scrape-off
layer near the separatrix can be clearly seen close to the
inner wall in the case of ASDEX and the outer wall for
DIVA. In ASDEX very little visible radiation is seen
from the plasma during a diverted discharge in constrast
to the limiter discharges previously described. The illumination seen in films of ASDEX diverted discharges
originates mainly from the gas puffing position, where
the excitation of the gas entering the torus acts as a light
source, illuminating the torus walls. This is evident from
the shadows cast on the torus surface and direct observation of the gas puffing position which appears on
film as a very bright source, fig. 7 [I 11. During an
ASDEX diverted discharge the light from the scrape-off
layer due to recycling gas and impurities
becoming
ionised in a region a few cm wide, slowly becomes
brighter as the discharge continues. This visible scrapeoff layer is usually very stable and discharges lasting 3 s
Fig. 7. Illumination
showing filaments.

from

the gas puffing

position

in ASDEX

been filmed which show no visible change apart

from the beginning and end of the pulse. For stable
discharges such as this, the visible radiation is dominated

have

2.0 c

1.6;
\Getter

5
i
E
g
:

Panel

1.2 :
_
0.6
Dwertor
Coils -<

ct.41

t
O0-

1 -L0.4

, __I
1
0.6
Radius

Fig. 6. The cross-section

(Metres)

of DIVA (top figure) and ASDEX

Fig. 8. The ASDEX divertor scrape-off layer 2 s after the start

of the discharge (I, =240 kA. max A, =2.7X lOI mM3).

16

D.H.J.

GoodaN / High speed cm film studies

by recycled hydrogen
and has the characteristic
red
colour of H, radiation. When the discharge is less stable
and plasma surface interactions
occur, this colour
changes to a blue white, as impurities from the wall
become excited near the separatrix.
Fig. 8 shows an
example of an ASDEX diverted discharge at an elapsed
time of 2 s.
Fig. 9 is from a film of a diverted discharge in DIVA
[ 121 which shows a similar visible scrape-off layer which
can be seen entering the divertor chamber and terminating at the target plate.
Diverted discharges in DITE using the MKI bundle
divertor are also very different from limiter discharges
in appearance but unlike ASDEX and DIVA there is
still visible radiation from the outer region of the plasma.
This is consistent with measurements
of density which
show only a slow decrease in density with radius [ 13,141.
The wide scrape-off layer is considered to be due to the
long connection
length to the divertor target which is
characteristic
of bundle divertors. Fig. 10 shows the
cross section near the fixed limiters for a diverted
discharge. Unlike the limiter discharge of fig. l(a) the
outer region of the plasma consists of slow moving,
overlapping,
crescent shaped structures of varying intensity with some very bright narrow regions [4]. Fig. 11
shows the computed
cross sections of magnetic flux
bundles at the same toroidal position as fig. 10 where
the value of N indicates the number of rotations of the
bundles around the major circumference
of DITE before entering the divertor chamber. The shape of these
flux bundles and their evolution with time during the

Fig. 10. A diverted discharge

1.8X lOI mP7, Ed = 1.5 T).

\
d
\

Fig. 9. The divertor

scrape-off

layer in DIVA.

Fig. 11. Computed

flux bundles for the MkI bundle divertor
for q = 3.1 ( r = 18.5cm). The numbers indicate the number of
complete revolutions
around the major circumference
of the

in DITE (I, = 82 kA. max ii, =

, . _
. I._
__-t.___
--

_.
_//

,/

//

///

:f

torus before entering the divertor. The solid and dotted lines
differentiate
between a clockwise and an anticlockwise
rotation
respectively.

17

D. H.J. Goodall / High speed tine film studies

discharge are very like the observed structures in films

of diverted discharges.
Flux bundles making a small
number of revolutions around the torus before entering
the divertor would produce a region of low density and
temperature
which in the film are seen as a dark crescent shape. The computations
also show that certain
regions for a wide range of q values, undergo many
revolutions
before entering the divertor and can be
considered
to be undiverted.
Such regions will have a
higher density and temperature compared with the surrounding diverted plasma. There will therefore be a
higher rate of ionisation and excitation so that these
areas will show up as bright areas in the film. Thin,
bright, almost stationary shapes, are in fact observed in
the films at the position predicted by the computations.
The existence of slow moving regions of differing density can explain the discontinuities
in the ion flux in
diverted discharges in DITE observed by Erents using a
thermal desorption probe [ 131.

4. Plasma behaviour
4. I. Initial stages of rhe discharge

During the initial phase of the DITE discharge,

radial cell like phenomena
which penetrate the plasma

10

20

15
q

Fig. 13. The number of cells m as a function of q.

by as much as 15 cm are observed producing a localised

increase in the limiter glow where they make contact
with the limiter. As the plasma current increases these
structures disappear and reform several times, decreasing in number as the current increases (fig. 12(a)-12(g)).
The number of cells is correlated with the value of the
safety factor q at the limiter, as shown in fig. 13. This
shows that the effective mode number m changes in a
regular way as q falls. The values for m are in the range
0.9- 1.3 q, where q = (a/R)( B,/B,).
During the plasma
current plateau the cells are normally not visible, although for one abnormal,
low current, resistive discharge such phenomena
persisted for most of the discharge. These cells are seen at the start of most DITE
discharges
including
discharges
where the adjustable
limiters have been used to produce a discharge of small
minor radius. They have not however been observed in
diverted discharges
but may well be hidden by the
complex structures seen in diverted plasmas.
4.2. Disruprions

a
a
Fig. 12. Transient
phenomena
during the initial stage of a
DITE discharge; (a) I =2.2 ms, (b) 3.2 ms. (c) 3.6 ms, Cd) 4.0
ms. (e) 4.2 ms, (f) 4.6 ms, (g) 5.6 ms.

When the plasma disrupts and expands towards the

wall an increased plasma surface interaction is observed
with a glow appearing around components
behind the
limiter and near the wall similar to the limiter glow
during a normal discharge. This increased interaction is
well correlated with fluctuations in the loop voltage and
plasma position even for minor disruptions as shown in
fig. 14 for DITE.
The plasma behaviour during soft disruptions
with
its characteristic
fast expansion towards the wall and
the slow contraction
afterwards has been modelled by
Lisitano [15] and Turner and Wesson [ 161. The sudden

D. H.J. Goodall / High speed tine film studies

18
outwards

Horizontal

Plasma

Positlon

r
2.0cm

n
Neutral

Injectton

Period

150
kA)

Plasma

Current

100
,
50

40,

I
80

+
120

1
Ii+T1rrt
200

t (ms)
Fig. 14. The correlation

radiation. The occurrence

between visible disruptions

in DITE (vertical arrows).
of individual UFOs is shown by the horizontal lines.

and loop voltage

signals.

plasma

position

and Ti II

influx of impurities after the plasma contact with the

wall causes cooling by an increase in the plasma radiation which in turn causes a reduction in the plasma
minor radius. Precursors
to disruptions
are seen in
DITE as an increase in MHD activity from coil sensors
with an accompanying
break up in the glow around the
limiter in filmed discharges.
4.3. Magnetic islands
Fig. 15 shows examples of phenomena
in the outer
regions of the plasma which have been interpreted
as
magnetic islands. The islands have an elongated shape
with a dark centre. Although superficially
resembling
the limiter shadows previously discussed, they tend to
be more elongated,
with an appreciable
variation in
poloidal position in times less than 0.3 ms. In contrast
the poloidal position of the limiter shadow is very stable
and changes slowly with plasma current and the resultant change in q. The islands are most frequently
observed during disruptions
when multiple structures
are often seen in the length of the visible part of the
minor circumference.

Fig. 15. Magnetic islands in a DITE discharge,

start (I, = 190 kA, max A, =6.8X lOI mm3).

173 ms after the

4.4. Filaments

The bright filaments shown in fig. 7 in ASDEX at

the gas puffing position throughout
the discharge are

19

D. H. J. Goodall / High speed tine film studies

very similar to filaments which appear when a pulse of

methane is injected into the plasma in the field of view
of the camera [5]. This suggests that the filaments are
always present but are normally invisible and are illuminated
by the presence of atoms or ions emitting
visible radiation.
The filaments fluctuate in position
independently
of the filming speed, suggesting a wide
frequency spectrum [3]. Similar fluctuations at the edge
of the plasma have been observed with Langmuir probe
measurements
[14] and in films as a flutter near the
limiter. The marked similarlity between the ASDEX
filament fluctuations and the DITE flutter suggests that
they are the same phenomenon.
The difference in appearance may be due to observing the filaments in cross
section in DITE and toroidally in the ASDEX films of
the gas puffing position. Toroidal filaments are, however, sometimes seen in films of DITE discharges, usually during unstable conditions.
Plasma current filaments induced
by electron
thermal
instabilities
in
tokamak like plasmas have been proposed [ 17,181 which
appear to be consistent with this phenomena.

5. UFOs
Bright moving macroscopic
particles (UFOs) have
been observed in many tokamaks,
often originating
from limiters, particularly during abnormal discharges.
In DITE. however, UFOs in the cameras field of view
do not originate from the visible limiter and occur
mainly in the lower half of the torus. Fig. 16 shows an
example of UFOs in an unstable discharge. The UFOs
in DITE have a velocity of a few metres per second and

appear to travel predominantly

around the torus in the
direction of the plasma current. Examples of UFOs
travelling in the opposite direction are, however, often
observed in the same discharge. Similarly when UFOs
are observed falling from the top of the torus, examples
of UFOs rising can also be seen. For some DITE
discharges with neutral injection, UFOs originating in
the injector beam line during the injection period have
been observed. In one discharge a beam of UFOs from
the bottom of the beam line travelled in straight lines in
the direction of the beam with a lifetime T- 20 ms.
After the neutral injector period the normal UFO motion around the torus was observed. This indicates a
momentum transfer from the neutral beam to the UFOs.
Results from DITE in table 1 show the average number of UFOs per discharge and their mean lifetime for
the 10% of the torus volume filmed. Unlike most of the
other tokamaks where UFOs have been observed, the
vacuum vessel of DITE had been gettered with titanium
during the period of observation.
It is well known that
as the layer of titanium builds up on the walls of a
titanium gettered vacuum vessel, titanium flakes detach
from the surface, particularly
if the walls are contaminated. Such flakes have been observed to move in
plasmas and fig. 17 shows a still photograph taken with
a long exposure in the CLEO tokamak [ 191.
To demonstrate
that flakes from the walls in DITE
can produce UFOs similar to those observed during
normal discharges in DITE, discharges were filmed during which the torus received a mechanical shock. The
shock was produced by a 1.5 kg weight falling 60 cm
which could be triggered to make the impact at any
desired time during the discharge.
Impacts after the
start of the discharge produced showers of UFOs appearing at the time expected for flakes falling freely
under gravity to reach the discharge (fig. 18). Impacts
before the discharge sometimes produced disruptions at
a time when freely falling flakes would have reached a
minor radius of 10 cm. Showers timed to be at the

Table 1

UFO
lifetime

Average
number of
UFOs per
discharge

3.2 ms

2.9

2.3 ms

3.3

Average

Discharges with
neutral
Fig. 16. UFOs in an unstable DITE discharge,
start when I, =35 kA (I, = 150 kA).

309 ms after the

injection

Discharges without
neutral injection

20

D.H.J.

Goodall / High speed tine film studies

Ti Pellets 3mm long

and diameter as shown

150 -

0.5.1.0.2.0.3.0mm

0
(1,)

40

60
Time

120

Fig. 19. Premature termination

of DITE discharges
dropping titanium pellets into the plasma.

Fig. 17. Moving titanium flakes in the CLEO

ating in the tokamak mode.

plasma
from

centre
the plasma

In addition

at the start

of the discharge

in less than
to

the

stellerator

were

oper-

ejected

5 ms.

mechanical

shock

experiments

160

(ms)

caused

by

films were taken in DITE of titanium pellets dropping

into the plasma. The cylindrical samples which ranged
from 0.25 mm to 3 mm diameter and 2 to 3 mm in
length, were released from the fixed limiter position at
26 cm at various times during the discharge. Samples
timed to be at the torus centre at the start of the
discharges caused an immediate extinction of the plasma
and samples released at 80 ms before the start of the
discharges produced
disruptions
as shown in fig. 19.
Falling freely under gravity the samples would have
reached a minor radius in the range lo-13 cm at the
time of disruption.
For a given sample size and release
time, the disruption time was determined by the plasma
density and the higher the density the later the time of
disruption. The experiments with mechanical shock and
pellet dropping in DITE show that large showers and
pellets can cause disruptions
and pellets in particular
produce violent disruptions which extinguish the plasma.
Titanium flakes falling from the divertor chamber in
PDX have also terminated
discharges [20]. The UFOs
from the shock and pellet experiments, however, appear
to be substantially
dominated
by gravitational
forces
unlike the UFOs occuring spontaneously
in normal
discharges.

6. Discussion

Fig. 18. UFOs 3 ms after the start of the discharge.

by a mechanical shock to the wall in DITE.

produced

The observations
reported show a wide range of
phenomena
which may have important implications
in
understanding
plasma behaviour. The observed limifer
shadows could for example yield information
on perpendicular
and parallel diffusion
since visible dif-

D. H.J. GoodaN / High speed tine film studies

ferences in the plasma are evident after at least two

rotations around the major circumference
of DITE. The
bundle divertor also shows visible plasma features persisting after several rotations. Discrete limiter and divertor shadows will of course have important
effects on
surface physics probes in the outer regions of the plasma
and should be taken into account when short poloidal
or mushroom
limiters are used. The fluctuating
filaments observed in DITE and ASDEX also merit further
study as they may well be a universal characteristic
of
tokamak discharges. They are easily seen in ASDEX
near the gas puffing position or after impurity injection.
Although both the gas puffing and impurity injection
positions are on the outer wall of ASDEX, the DITE
fluctuations
are seen at the inner wall. This indicates
that the filaments,
which are present for most discharges, occur over the entire plasma surface. The spatial fluctuations
of the filaments
suggest a possible
contribution
to cross field diffusion. If they do make a
significant contribution,
the fact that the filaments are
more prominent in some discharges than others in DITE
and their intensity changes during the discharge, offers
the possibility of some measure of control when their
behaviour is understood.
The phenomena
observed in the plasma i.e. the initial plasma cells and magnetic islands are also significant and will be analysed in more detail in another
paper [22]. The cells in particular may help to explain
why plasma skin currents do not persist as predicted by
present theory [23] which would predict skin currents in
JET lasting several seconds.
The limiter glow is another striking feature of the
discharge filmed in many tokamaks. It is interesting to
compare the observed width of the glow (- 2 cm) in
DITE with an estimated plasma penetration
depth of
neutrals from the limiter. This depth will be determined
by the depletion of neutrals as ionisation occurs, and
the ions drift along field lines away from the immediate
vicinity of the limiter. Taking the observed values of T,
and n, at the limiter in DITE [14] of 10 eV and 10
m 3, the penetration
depth for H. 0 and Ti atoms can
be estimated. It is assumed that scattered H atoms have
energies in the range 50-100 eV, sputtered, evaporated
or thermally desorped atoms have energies of 2 eV and
0.05 eV respectively. For an e-folding length h for n, in
DITE of 1 cm, and taking the reaction rates from Lotz
[21 J, it can be shown that sputtered Ti has a penetration
depth - 2cm and desorbed 0- 3.5 cm. Sputtered 0
and scattered H have much longer length far exceeding
the observed width of the glowing region. This estimate
and the spectroscopic
results in section 3.1 are consistent with the production of a limiter glow by excited

21

sputtered
Ti neutral atoms with a contribution
from
thermally desorbed oxygen.
UFOs are an obvious source of plasma impurities
and their contribution
to the impurity concentration
must be assessed. The following discussion is a summary
of a more detailed account to be published separately
v41.
The size of a UFO can be estimated from its observed lifetime which in DITE has a maximum value
- 20 ms. For a titanium spherical UFO of radius r, the
lifetime will be determined by its thermal capacity and
the incident energy. It can be shown that for an ion
density of lOI me3 and T, 100 eV, a 20 ms lifetime
gives a value for r of 30 pm.
Estimates of the size of a UFO which can follow
magnetic field lines can also be made. Particles travelling under the influence of magnetic forces require an
appropriate
Q/m ratio for the maximum gyroradius in
DITE which is -0.2 m. For a titanium UFO with the
maximum
possible charge consistent
with its tensile
strength, the maximum value of the UFO radius = 0.25
pm. This value of r is inconsistent
with the value
calculated from the observed lifetime of UFOs and even
allowing for the uncertainty
in the value of T, used in
this calculation, it seems unlikely that UFOs are magnetically confined. Observations of UFO paths show no
evidence for helical motion.
Electrostatic
forces in the plasma permit UFOs of
the required size but it is not possible to explain the
direction of motion from the direction of the electric
field in the plasma. It is therefore likely that the UFO
driving force is non uniform ablation, momentum transfer or both.
For discharges without neutral injection, mass motion of the plasma around the major circumference
of a
tokamak is thought to be related to the motion of MHD
waves. Measurements
in tokamaks have shown a characteristic frequency
- 10 kHz for n = 1, m=2
waves
[25]. For a wavelength
X = 2nR a velocity in DITE
(R = 1.17 m) of 6 X lo4 ms- is obtained. Taking this
velocity as the ion velocity, the size of a UFO can be
estimated
assuming its motion is determined
only by
momentum transfer. For the same ion density and UFO
velocity previously taken, a UFO radius of 60 pm is
obtained which is consistent with the value estimated
from its lifetime. Similar calculations
for the UFOs
which originated
in the neutral injection beam line
estimate the UFO radius of a UFO driven by momentum transfer from the beam to be r - 20 pm.
There is some direct evidence for the size of UFOs in
DITE from debris removed from the torus. Many examples have been found of titanium spheres of 40 pm

22

D. H.J.

Goodall / High speed tine film studies

providing facilities to film discharges and the support of

G.M. McCracken in undertaking this work. Many thanks
are due to R.E. Clausing (ISX), H. Otsuka (DIVA,
JFT2), H. Niedermeyer
(ASDEX) and P.C. Johnson
(CLEO) for information
and permission
to use films
and photographs
taken by them. Discussions
with J.
Wesson on the observed plasma phenomena
have also
been very useful. Particular thanks are due to J. Dowling (Harwell) for invaluable assistance in filming and
editing material, G.E. Austin for the construction
and
installation of apparatus and last but not least T. Bending who spent many hours in the dark analysing film
and counting UFOs.

Fig. 20. Titanium spheres found in DITE.

diameter. A few molybdenum

spheres presumably from
discharges when molybdenum
limiters were used have
also been observed. Examples of the spheres are shown
in fig. 20 and they may well represent UFOs which have
been ejected from the plasma.
A spherical UFO of 20-30 pm radius if completely
evaporated will produce 2 to 7 X 1Ol5 atoms. The typical level of 5 UFOs per discharge in DITE and the
upper limit for UFO size. will produce a total impurity
per discharge of lOI to 4 X lOI atoms. This is approximately
equal to the typical measured
titanium
concentrations
in DITE [26]. UFOs of the estimated
size would therefore make a significant contribution
to
the impurity content if completely ablated.

7. Conclusions
High speed tine photography
has been shown to
record interesting
and sometimes previously unknown
plasma phenomena
and plasma surface interactions.
It
is particularly important to use tine in conjunction with
other diagnostics
if the maximum value is to be extracted from the films. Similarly study of the films by a
wide range of specialists will undoubtedly
broaden the
understanding
of the recorded phenomena. The use of a
tine camera as a routine diagnostic should prove to be a
valuable and inexpensive aid in plasma experiments.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank J.W.M. Paul and the
DITE team, M. Keilhacker and the ASDEX team for

References
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