Apparatus and method for guiding an electric discharge with a magnetic field

A device for generating and guiding an electric discharge current, comprising:

• first and second electrodes;
• a housing having a first end and a second end;
• a gas contained in said housing, said gas having a quasi-resonance and positioned between said first electrode and said second electrode;
• first and second filaments positioned along said first and second electrodes, respectively;
• means for applying a current through said first and second filaments thereby heating and consequently ionizing said gas in a first and second vicinity of said first and second electrodes;
• means for applying photons having an energy equal to the quasi-resonance, the photons filling a region of the gas between said first electrode and said second electrode;
• means for applying a voltage between said first and second electrodes, whereby said electric discharge is generated which follows an ionized path in said region;
• and
• means for applying a magnetic field oriented approximately along said ionized path in order to further confine said electric discharge to follow said ionized path.

A method for guiding an electric discharge between a first and second electrode, comprising the steps of:

• positioning a material between a first electrode and a second electrode, the material having at least two excited electronic states;
• generating photons having energies equal to the difference in energy between the two excited electronic states of the material;
• filling a region of the material between the first and second electrodes with said photons;
• applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes, whereby said electric discharge follows an ionized path in said region;
• and
• applying a magnetic field oriented approximately along said ionized path in order to further confine said electric discharge to follow said ionized path.