Steady state thermoelectric field-reversed configurations

It is shown that the cross-field thermoelectric force of magnetized plasmas can maintain field-reversed configurations against resistive diffusion, re sulting in a steady state device attractive for thermonuclear fusion. If a peaked radial temperature profile is maintained, the thermoelectric force i s in the opposite direction to the usual resistive friction, thus maintaini ng the field configuration. The field maintenance is tantamount to dynamo a ction, operating even in two dimensions. We show that a steady state device can be made by simply heating the O-point: no external electric fields or particle sources are needed. The feasibility of this scheme for fusion is d iscussed.