The compression of plasmas by laser beams to produce a significant thermonuclear energy requires very sophisticated experimental techniques and equipment, costing millions of dollars. We review here comparatively simple techniques which should permit a time-resolved demonstration of an isentropic density compression, using low-powered lasers of a type commonly encountered in university research laboratories, and diagnostic equipment of modest cost. Althoughthermonuclear burn cannot be investigatedwith such simple apparatus, many aspects of flux-limited thermal transport, light absorption, and end-effects (i.e. intensity assymmetries) could be conveniently and quantitatively investigated.

A new, purely growing instability has been found for a bi-Maxwellian plasma in a uniform magnetic field. Instability exists for β;11 = 4βnkT11/B2 > O.591 when Tboxhu;= 0, and ions are neglected. The growth rate is near the electron gyro frequency (or v/c the plasma frequency), and the polarization is almost electrostatic for almost perpendicular propagation. The instability is obtainable only from the complete dispersion relation.