X-ray backlighting of high-current multiwire liner discharges

The results from experiments on the formation of a single cylindrical plasm a shell in a multiwire liner discharge are presented. A modern X-ray backli ghting technique in which an X-pinch serves as a small-size X-ray source is employed for plasma diagnosing. The processes observed in the explosion of two to four wire loads are shown to depend on the conductivity of the meta l used. The features of the discharge that are determined by the corona-cor e structure are found.