Title :
High Z-low Z nuclear reactions in the plasma focus (PF) pinch
Author :
Brzosko, J.S. ; Nardi, V. ; Goldstein, D.B. ; Brzosko, J.R.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., Stevens Inst. of Technol., Hoboken, NJ, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. A Mather-type PF machine with a field distortion element was fired at 7 kJ. The discharge chamber was filled with HZ (high-Z) gases (carbon, nitrogen, and/or oxygen) as well as LZ (low-Z) gases (deuterium and/or 3-helium). The atomic ratio of HZ to LZ atoms varied from 0.07 to 0.20 and did not affect PF pinch quality. MeV ions are accelerated and trapped, and induce nuclear reactions in high-density plasma domains. The /spl beta/ radioactive products were detected and the reaction yield, Y/sub p/, was determined for HZ-LZ reactions. Measured yield, Y/sub p/, renormalized to 2-component reference gas mixtures of HZ and LZ were plotted against the calculated reaction rate. The linear relation of Y/sub p/ and RR is valid for a variety of reactions with effective energy threshold from 0 to 4 MeV.
Keywords :
plasma focus; /spl beta/ radioactive products; 0 to 4 MeV; 7 kJ; Mather-type PF machine; atomic ratio; discharge chamber; effective energy threshold; field distortion element; high Z low Z nuclear reactions; high-density plasma domains; ion acceleration; ion trapping; pinch quality; reaction rate; reaction yield; reference gas mixtures; Atomic measurements; Carbon; Chemical elements; Contracts; Deuterium; Gases; Nitrogen; Physics; Plasma density; Plasma measurements;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 1993. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts., 1993 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1360-7
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.1993.593519
