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ICC 2010 Abstracts Abstract Details
| Presentation: | submitted: | by: |
|---|---|---|
| innovative_confinement_configuration___paper.pdf | 2010-03-10 22:00:05 | Scott Thomas |
| innovative_confinement_configuration___poster.pdf | 2010-03-10 21:59:36 | Scott Thomas |
| innovative_confinement_concept___spherical_cusp-2.pdf | 2009-11-22 12:02:55 | Scott Thomas |
| innovative_confinement_concept___spherical_cusp-1.pdf | 2009-11-14 10:25:24 | Scott Thomas |
| innovative_confinement_concept___spherical_cusp.pdf | 2009-11-14 10:21:01 | Scott Thomas |
| plasma_power_systems___design.pdf | 2009-11-14 08:38:07 | Scott Thomas |
Spherical Cusp for High Energy Density Plasma Confinement
Author: Scott V Thomas
Requested Type: Consider for Invited
Submitted: 2009-11-22 12:01:41
Co-authors:
Contact Info:
Plasma Power Systems
304 West 112th Street, 1E
New York, NY 10282
USA
Abstract Text:
In the majority of confinement configurations used to confine plasma, there is a tendency toward instability due to the fact that the corresponding magnetic field lines can shorten themselves causing a disruption. The exception, in terms of confinement configurations, is when the magnetic field lines curve away from the plasma, or in other words, when the confinement configuration is a magnetic cusp. This configuration is inherently stable due to the fact that an instability requires an expenditure of energy to stretch the lines of force to fill the volume previously occupied by the plasma. In this presentation, an innovative confinement concept called the spherical cusp will be discussed. This concept involves the idea of suspending of a small spherical cusp inside the core of a larger spherical cusp using a reverse field support structure in order to provide sufficient confinement time and magnetic insulation to create and maintain a high energy density plasma. The concept also involves the use of electron cyclotron resonance heating with a pair of high frequency (200 GHz) gyrotrons and a strong magnetic field (7.2 T) to operate in a regime that allows the microwaves to penetrate into the plasma with very little power loss. This operating regime, which is on the order of 5E14 electrons per cubic centimeter, along with an ideal ignition temperature of 4 keV and 36 keV for D-T and D-D reactions, respectively, could produce breakeven conditions for steady state confinement times on the order of one second.
Characterization: C,D
Comments:
