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