Does Centrifugal Force Cause Curvature Drift in Plasmas?

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SUMMARY

Centrifugal force plays a crucial role in the curvature drift observed in plasmas, particularly from the perspective of a particle's guiding centre. While stationary observers, such as experimentalists in a tokamak, do not perceive centrifugal force as it is a fictitious force, they must consider centripetal force to understand particle migration. The discussion emphasizes that drift relative to the plasma volume remains observer-independent, ensuring consistent results despite varying descriptions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of plasma physics concepts, particularly curvature drift.
  • Familiarity with the principles of centrifugal and centripetal forces.
  • Knowledge of tokamak operations and plasma confinement.
  • Basic grasp of observer-dependent versus observer-independent phenomena in physics.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of curvature drift in plasmas.
  • Study the role of centrifugal and centripetal forces in plasma dynamics.
  • Explore tokamak design and its impact on plasma behavior.
  • Investigate observer-independent phenomena in classical mechanics.
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, plasma researchers, and engineers involved in fusion technology and tokamak experiments will benefit from this discussion.

TheCanadian
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Curvature drift in plasmas arise due to the centrifugal force that a particle sees when considering its guiding centre. Thus if one is following from the frame of the guiding centre, this drift will be observed. But for a stationary observer (let's say an experimentalist watching the plasma in a tokamak), they don't notice any centrifugal force on the particles as it's a fictitious force. Thus would the experimentalist observe any kind of curvature drift in the tokamak?
 
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The stationary observer sees a need of centripetal force, or migration if there is no such force.

Drift relative to the plasma volume is observer-independent, the description can vary but the result has to be the same.
 

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