2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries

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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2) Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501 Sponsored by Vangard Sciences PO BOX 1031 Mesquite, TX 75150 There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS on duplicating, publishing or distributing the files on KeelyNet! December 27, 1990 PLASMA2.ASC -------------------------------------------------------------------- The following text is a copy of an explanatory article which is freely distributed to visitors of the Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos National Laboratory. -------------------------------------------------------------------- METHODS TOWARD A FUSION REACTOR THROUGH MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT AND HEATING The object of the Controlled Thermonuclear Research (CTR) program is to provide a new and essentially inexhaustible energy source by controlling thermonuclear reactions-the energy source of the sun and the stars. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb is an example of rapid thermonuclear energy release. Through the CTR program, scientists at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) and elsewhere are working toward developing a method to slow down this energy release in a new type of nuclear reactor-the fusion reactor. A thermonuclear reaction is a "fusion" reaction whereby the nuclei of light atoms, such as hydrogen, heavy hydrogen (deuterium), and lithium, are welded or fused together. All present nuclear reactors operate by the "fission" process, which is the splitting of nuclei of heavy atoms such as uranium or plutonium into lighter elements, plus the release of energy. Also, large amounts of energy are released during the fusion process. This energy, if controlled, can be made available as electrical power or heat. The importance of pursuing this difficult goal is evident when one considers the limited supply of Earth's fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) and commercial-grade uranium ores. In the face of an increasing world energy demand, these conventional fuels may last only another 50 to 400 years. By contrast, fusion reactors could be fueled with deuterium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen that is available in common seawater. The energy potential from the deuterium in 1 gallon of water is equivalent to 300 gallons of gasoline. One cubic mile of water has the energy potential of 100,000 tons of uranium-235. There is sufficient energy in the oceans to supply power for many future generations. Page 1 The end product of fusion is helium, which is harmless, and neutrons, which are readily captured within the reactor core. Therefore, we would only have few of the radioactive waste-disposal problems that are common to fission-reactor power plants. Furthermore, because of the small fuel inventory on hand, explosive accidents would not be possible in a fusion reactor. Research in controlled thermonuclear reactions was started at LASL in 1951, although the idea had been discussed by LASL personnel during World War II days. To attain a power-producing thermonuclear reaction, one must produce temperatures over 50,000,000 degrees C and contain pressures of tons per square inch. These temperatures and pressures must be maintained for at least one-hundredth of a second. At thermonuclear temperatures, all matter exists as a plasma. (A plasma is a gas composed of equal numbers of positive atomic nuclei and negative electrons, which at ordinary temperatures would unite to form neutral gas atoms and molecules. A form of plasma is the glow in a household fluorescent lamp fixture, for example.) Because a plasma is a good electrical conductor, it can be held by magnetic forces. The deuterium plasma that is created and studied in CTR experiments is usually confined by special magnetic field configurations, called "magnetic bottles." A major effort of mational research in CTR is concerned with the containment of plasma in toroidal-shaped magnetic bottles. Particular types of these plasma bottles are the Tokamaks and the toroidal Z pinches. Toroidal Z pinches, with their higher currents, can be heated ohmically, such as in the manner of an electric toaster. Tokamaks, the major world effort in toroidal geometry, use other heating methods. A major area of fusion research at LASL is a toroidal Z-pinch experiment, which has a 15-cm bore and a 40-cm major radius. The plasma has been heated to approximately 10,000,000 degrees C by the fast-rising magnetic field of a large toroidal (axial) current that compresses, or pinches, the plasma. In practice, the pinched plasma is stabilized by a nearby conducting wall and a strong toroidal magnetic field that reverses its direction on the outside of the pinch. Future experiments seek to extend the present 30-microsecond confinement of the hot plasma. A large toroidal Z-pinch experiment is now being designed and built a LASL. This experiment, called ZT-40, is about 10 times larger than the demonstration Z pinch. The ZT-40 will have controllable magnetic field systems capable of producing a reversed magnetic field outside the pinch. Reversed field pinches have demonstrated longer lifetimes than ordinary pinches, and it is expected that research information obtained from the ZT-40 experiment will put us one step further toward the Page 2 ultimate answer to the energy crisis: a fusion reactor that burns fuel obtained from seawater! ******************************************************************** Next is a copy of another information sheet produced by Los Alamos National Laboratory. ******************************************************************** MAGNETIC FUSION RESEARCH IN CTR-DIVISION Thermonuclear fusion research began in the 1950's in the United States, Great Britian and the Soviet Union. From the beginning Los Alamos made significant contributions to this research and continues to play an important role now. For example, the first successful laboratory experiments to produce thermonuclear reactions were done at Los Alamos in 1958. During the 1960's and 1970's considerable progress was made throughout the world in magnetic confinement research. Today at Los Alamos, the emphasis in magnetic confinement research is on two concepts, the reversed field pinch and the compact toroid. Both of these concepts have the potential for development as small, compact fusion reactors. The work in CTR-Division is part of the national magnetic fusion energy research program to develop fusion energy as a practical, economical energy resource. ZT-40M ZT-40M is a reversed field pinch experiment. It has a toroidal, or donut-shaped, magnetic confinement geometry and uses strong electric currents in the plasma to produce some of the magnetic fields that confine the plasma. These currents also heat the plasma just as electric currents heat the wires in an electric toaster. ZT-40M has produced hot plasma at temperatures between 3 and 4 million degrees Celsius. The plasmas are produced in pulses in ZT-40M which last about 20 to 25 milliseconds. CTX-SPHEROMAK CTX is a compact toroid experiment. The experiment produces toroidally shaped plasmas, just as in ZT-40M but without the toroidal vaccum vessel and magnetic coils surrounding the plasma. Instead, the confining magnetic fields are generated principally by electric currents flowing within the plasma itself, and the hole in the torus shrinks to produce a compact toriodal shape. CTX has produced hot plasmas at temperatures between one and two million degrees Celsius, in pulses lasting one to two milliseconds. FRX-C FRX-C is another type of compact toroid experiment that produces Page 3 prolate (tall, cigar-shaped) toroidal plasmas. As in the CTX Spheromak, FRX-C relies on internal currents for confining magnetic fields. Temperatures as high as 10 million degrees Celsius have been achieved in FRX-C. Plasma pulses lasting up to 300 microseconds have been produced. ******************************************************************** Contributed by Michael McQuay -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your consideration, interest and support. Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we can be of service, you may contact Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4