2XIIB status

The 2XIIB CTR facility at LLL is described with emphasis on the engineering aspects of recent modifications. The current version of the 2X series of magnetic confinement experiments has been operating since the fall of 1974. The 2XIIB relies on pulsed-mirror coils to trap axially-injected low- energy ions. Subsequent heating of the ions is accomplished by energizing additional mirror coils to compress the plasma. Experiments prior to 2XIIB demonstrated plasma trapping and confinement in the pulsed mode. The new feature of 2XIIB is intense beams of electrically neutral atoms that heat the target plasma and sustain its classical losses. The principal goal of on-going experiments is to demonstrate scaling of the eta tau product with mean ion energy via neutral beam injection. This paper is an overview of the engineering developments of the past two years and an introduction to more detailed reports presented at this symposium. (auth