From: adder_black_the@yahoo.com (Steve Ivy)
Newsgroups: sci.physics.plasma
Subject: New Hybrid MM ICF Approach.
Organization: http://groups.google.com/



Ok I have read enough about magnetic mirrors
to know that one of their biggest problems is
that they leak. But do they have to?

OK so mind experiment time.

Take a simple cylindrical solonoid.
(eventually a superconducting one.)

Now you generate a conventional DT plasma and
try to contain it in your big solonid.

Normally of course this would completely
fail to contain the plasma.

And here are the two primary reasons why.


1) There are two holes in the magnetic
bottle. Big ones, right on the ends.

2) Due to the random nature of the motion of
the particles in the plasma not every particle
in the plasma will always have sufficient
tangential velocity such that it will "see" the
force of the magnetic field no matter how
strong that field may be.

It simple (F= qV X B) common sense. If there is
No V in the Cross B direction then there is no
force to constrain the particle to the center
of the chamber. With no constraint normal gaseous
diffusion will take place. Hot paticles begin to
touch the wall, the plasma cools and, everything
goes to heck.


Well I have a (FIX) for both of those problems


Fix # 1 (for the holes in the ends)

Instead of jumping through endless hoops trying
to cap the ends magnetically why not just plug
them with a couple of powerful laser beams?

Fix # 2 (What to do about diffusion)

I suggest we provide a set of electodes within the
solonoid. Picture a squirrlle cage assembly of non-
ferrous electrodes. lining the inside of the solonoid.

Now sequentially apply a high positive voltage to each of
the electrode elements in turn. The electric field will
be be made to rapidly rotate about the cage. So any
positively charged particle that approaches the wall
will attempt to avoid the moving electric field.
But as the particle attempts to avoid that field
it will now have a tangential velocity component and
will thus be subject to the main magnetic field.

This sort of arrangement will likely not entirely stop
diffusion but it should slow it to a rate where it is
no longer "a show stopper"


One variation on this laser approach would be to apply
a long medium intensity laser pulse to the plasm
(to pack the plasma somewhat densely)

Once the lasma is packed sufficiently dense one could
hit the plasma with a brief but very intense main pulse to
induce a propegating burn in the plasma.

I would think that this approach is especially well
suited as an adjunct to the new "Magnetized target
fusion" program.

Call it a Hybrid Magnetic Mirror Inertial Confinement Fusion
or (HMMICF).

let people from both of the biggest and oldest camps of
fusion research work on it together. Peace at last.


Thanks for any insight on where I have gone wrong.

Steve Ivy