Wire Exploding in a Focus of Converging Cylindrical Shock Wave in Water - Introductory Remarks

It is expected that, just as the proximity of a wall stabilizes a Z-pinch in a capillary, the proximity of a wall (solid or liquid) can also stabilize an exploding wire placed in a capillary or in liquid (water), the density of which can be further increased by a suitably focused shock wave. A wire explosion will be used in our new apparatus CAPEX-U (current amplitude 100 kA, quarter period 70 ns) with free optical axial access to both (high voltage and ground) electrodes and with a four-channel laser- triggered main spark gap. As a driver for converging cylindrical shock waves in water a separate test apparatus was designed and assembled: a strong acoustical wave will be generated at the cylindrical chamber-surface (covered by porous ceramics) by a multi-streamer corona-like discharge that burns to a co-axial cylindrical mesh/foil electrode. Expected pressure amplitude at the axis approaches 1 GPa. Applications of wire explosion in the focus of a cylindrical shock wave in water to inertial confinement fusion as well as to soft X-ray lasers will be briefly mentioned.