Capacitors, Switch, Vacuum Chamber, Drift Tube

Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) has now received the 12 capacitors that will power the DPF (plus one spare).  The switches are being shipped, but have not arrived yet.  The design for the vacuum chamber and drift tube are complete.

Vacuum chamber and drift tube

We have completed the design of the vacuum chamber and drift tube. These include provisions for mounting the coil that will produce a small axial magnetic field, allowing us to fine-tune the amount of spin, or angular momentum fed into the plasma. (The inward-flowing currents, interacting with an axial magnetic field, produce an azimuthal, or spin, force.)

We have also included six windows to view the plasma from various angles, including a beryllium window that will allow us to observe all x-rays with energy above 10 keV. We will also be able to view simultaneously with an ICCD imaging camera, an x-ray lens, a spectrometer and a set of x-ray sensitive scintillators and photomultiplier tubes, which will provide time-resolved data. 

DPF construction timeline

We currently expect to have all equipment needed to construct the DPF in hand by June 15- July1, but some construction can begin before that.

Pictures of the DPF baby

Eric says, “Capacitors are still in their crates. Patience—once construction starts, we’ll be taking lots of pics and videos, maybe as early as a few weeks.”