An apparent momentum balance anomaly in the plasma focus

The validity of the snowplow model of plasma sheath propagation in a plasma focus (PF) and the localization of the magnetic field in the low density region behind the dense plasma sheath are two well-established experimental facts. It is shown that, when taken together, these two imply a deficiency in the momentum balance. The hypothesis that the current-carrying plasma layer is rotating while the dense plasma layer is not rotating is shown not only to resolve this momentum balance anomaly (MBA), but also to explain many observed phenomena in a unified manner.