Electric discharge in hydrogen of superhigh density at the current up to 500 kA

Summary form only given. The experiments to study the powerful electric discharge in hydrogen of high density initiated by the explosion of copper wire were conducted at the IPE RAS on the two-stage facility. The maximum particle density, achieved after the adiabatic compression of gas (just before the discharge), exceeded of 10/sup 22/ cm/sup -3/. Earlier on this facility was performed the stable discharge in hydrogen at the initial particle density up to 3.3/spl times/10/sup 22/ cm/sup -3/, gas pressure 350 MPa and discharge current /spl sim/10/sup 5/ A. At such conditions ion concentration in discharge channel was about 1.2/spl times/10/sup 20/ cm/sup -3/, temperature -1.3/spl times/10/sup 5/ K and radius of arc channel -0.14 cm. In this paper presented the result of experiments carried out at the discharge current up to 5/spl times/10/sup 5/ A. The main arc parameters: temperature, radius and ion concentration were calculated on base of measured electric parameters of arc and bright temperature of its outer layer. These magnitudes for the pure hydrogen plasma were following: T=3/spl times/10/sup 5/ K, r=0.06 cm and n/sub i/=10/sup 21/ cm/sup -3/. The increasing in arc temperature, decreasing arc radius and observing change of volt-ampere characteristics have been caused by the pinch-effect as a result of increasing discharge current.