Plasma Physics Seminar ( Phys 769)

Dr. Sarah Messer, HyperV Technologies Corp. Plasma Gun Development and Diagnostics We introduce the basic theory and phenomena associated with electromagnetic plasma accelerators. We also present magnetic and optical measurements for several guns, including those recently used in an attempt to drive plasma rotation in the Maryland Centrifugal Experiment (MCX). The initial MCX gun was a coaxial device designed to mitigate the blowby instability. The second one was a MiniRailgun with a rectangular bore oriented so that the MCX magnetic field augments the railgun's internal magnetic field. Tests at HyperV indicate this MiniRailgun reaches much higher densities than the original gun, although muzzle velocity is slightly reduced. We discuss the impact of these guns on MCX for various conditions. We also give an overview of related gun-development projects and applications. Return to main page