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Relaxation of Toroidal Plasma and Generation of Reverse Magnetic Fields

J. B. Taylor’s foundational 1974 Physical Review Letters paper on constrained magnetic relaxation.

Authors: J. B. Taylor
Date: 1974
Last checked: 2026-10-19
Access: Available via DOI through university libraries and the American Physical Society.
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In this classic 1974 paper, J. B. Taylor showed how a slightly resistive turbulent plasma inside a toroidal vessel relaxes toward a force-free state ( $\nabla \times \mathbf{B} = \lambda \mathbf{B}$ ) while approximately conserving global magnetic helicity. Chapter 2 of our book draws on Taylor’s theorem for its central physical model and contemplative analogy. Reading the original letter makes the physical assumptions behind the mathematics concrete.