Experiments on anomalous electron currents to a positive probe in a magnetized plasma stream

The first laboratory experiments are reported of anomalously high currents drawn by an electron collecting probe in a magnetized plasma stream. The currents exceed the theoretical values by Parker and Murphy [ Parker and Murphy, 1967] by more than a factor of three. Measurements of the potential pattern around the probe indicate that the enhanced currents are possible because electrons E × B ‐drift into a local field‐aligned current channel.