Investigation of the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability in a Cesium Plasma

Experiments have been performed in a thermally ionized cesium plasma, in which a relative drift between ions in adjacent layers appears to excite the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The relative drifts required are of the order of c_i, the ion thermal velocity, or somewhat smaller. The frequency of the oscillations is generally in the range 1-4 kc/sec. A study has been made of the type of waves excited, by means of amplitude and phase measurements.