The various instabilities which beset the theta-pinch plasma are described in some detail, and the importance of the role of magnetic-field uniformity is demonstrated. Sources of the field nonuniformity are delineated and discussed. These included the collector-plate geometry, the nonlinear effect of the plasma, and effects in the coil, discontinuity in gap spacing as the current flows into the coil, and effects of the alteration in axial current distribution due to skin effect.

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