Title :
Vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge experiment
Author :
Bosco, Edson Del ; Dallaqua, Renato Sergio ; Bittencourt, José Augusto ; Ludwig, Gerson Otto
Author_Institution :
Lab. Associado de Plasma, Inst. de Pesquisas Espaciais, Sao Paulo, Brazil
fDate :
10/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The authors describe the vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge developed at the Institute for Space Research (INPE) in Brazil. The experiment is characterized by its relatively small dimensions. Angular rotation frequencies in the range of 1.9×105 rad/s to 3.5×105 rad/s, measured with langmuir probes, are presented for a magnesium plasma. Enrichments of 15% for 25Mg and 26% for 26Mg were measured with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The dependence of magnesium isotope enrichments upon the magnetic field is also presented. It is noted that the existence of an optimum value for the B field is important for future scaling laws of plasma centrifuges
Keywords :
Langmuir probes; arcs (electric); centrifuges; isotope effects; plasma devices; 25Mg; 26Mg; B field; Brazil; Institute for Space Research; Mg plasma; angular rotation frequencies; isotope enrichments; langmuir probes; magnetic field; quadrupole mass spectrometer; scaling laws; vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge; Anodes; Cathodes; Chemical elements; Isotopes; Magnetic field measurement; Magnetic fields; Mass spectroscopy; Plasma materials processing; Plasma measurements; Plasma sources;
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
