Turbulent plasma wind tunnel studies on the Bryn Mawr Experiment (BMX): Spectra, Magnetic Nozzle, and Insulating Block Experiments

An overview and recent progress of activities at the Bryn Mawr Plasma Laboratory (BMPL) is presented. The main experiment at the facility, the Bryn Mawr Experiment (BMX), consists of a 4mF pulse-forming network that generates ~180us of stationary broadband fluctuations of magnetic field and plasma using a magnetized coaxial plasma gun source. A measurement of a dissipation scale, the Taylor microscale, has recently been made with values found on the order of 10-20% of the chamber radius. The spectra and intermittency of magnetic field fluctuations are also presented. Results from two recent experiments are also presented: 1) Increasing flow velocities using a magnetic nozzle configuration and 2) Exploring the wake due to an insulating block.