This paper is primarily intended to give an account of a few of the diagnostic techniques that have been applied to a highly ionized, steady-state helium plasma at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. However, to establish a proper perspective it will first be well to describe briefly the system in which the plasma is generated and studied.

Two IBM-704 codes have been written which are auxiliary to the Bevatron orbit code BOC. The first, BEFCYF, interpolates among tabulated values of the median-plane magnetic flux density of the Bevatron to produce an equivalent array of values in a form appropriate to BOC. The second, DBDT, produces azimuthal derivatives of the fields produced by BEFCYF. The internal operation of BEFCYF and DBDT is described, and instructions for their execution are given.

A title list of 119 reports published between 1952 to mid 1960 is given.

Abstract: "Microwaves have been used for several years at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to study conditions in the magnetically contained plasmas of controlled fusion research. There are two basic microwave techniques. One gives information on electron density and distribution in the plasma, the other provides data on electron temperature. This paper briefly summarizes the established techniques, discusses engineering requirements and limitations, and describes some further applications of microwaves presently being considered."

Both in magnetohydrodynamic shocks and in accelerated partially ionized gas flow across a magnetic field, space charge separation occurs that establishes very large electric fields in the direction of motion. The width of the current layers associated with the acceleration is never less than the electron Larmor radius with no collisions and is broadened by electron collisions to a width solely determined by the effective resistivity. The electrons gain an energy regardless of collisions equal to the electric potential difference across the layer. This potential corresponds to the change in kinetic energy of mass motion per ion. For slightly ionized gases, the additional stress of neutral ion collisions within the layer can make the electric potential and hence gain in electron energy very large for only modest changes in mass velocity. Hence ionization may occur when the change in kinetic energy of the ions is small compared to the ionization potential.

The guiding center motion and the adiabatic invariants of charged particle trajectories in electromagnetic fields are treated in this review. General and specific theories of charged particle motion are also reviewed.

This revised version contains material published in the two years since the original report was issued in January 1960. The report covers the history of the discovery of fission, fission theory, and the probability of fission. It discusses the distribution of mass in fission, the distribution of nuclear charge in fission, kinetic energy of fission fragments, and the role of neutrons and gamma rays in fission.