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Effective plasma radius: Difference between revisions
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→Based on field lines
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== Based on field lines == | == Based on field lines == | ||
If the flux surfaces are not known, the effective radius of a surface traced out by a field line can be found by following the field line and calculating the geometric mean of the distance between points on the field line and the magnetic axis. The mean should be weighed with ''1/B'' | If the flux surfaces are not known, the effective radius of a surface traced out by a field line can be found by following the field line and calculating the geometric mean of the distance between points on the field line and the magnetic axis. The mean should be weighed with ''1/B'' in order to account for the variation of the field strength along the flux surface. | ||
This procedure, while general in principle, still assumes that the field lines lie on flux surfaces. | This procedure, while general in principle, still assumes that the field lines lie on flux surfaces. | ||