Reply To: NIMBY FUD

[asymmetric_implosion]

Joe,

That is a typical view of the plasma focus. It is also demonstrated to be incorrect. In the last couple years, plenty of measurements support that ions and electrons are traveling in both directions. Work by Roshan et al at Nanyang Technical University showed that ions are indeed traveling toward the anode when they should be moving away. It is about local potentials. The conventional view of a pinch creating fast ions is that magnetic field rapidly evacuates a small region of the pinch due to instabilities. With the magnetic field changing in time, you generate an electric field which accelerates electrons and ions. These ions and electrons move in opposite directions as one might expect so you get two opposite moving particle beams. The problem is the electric field has a radial profile with some electrons and ions accelerated in both directions. None of this requires Gigagauss fields. For the tech savvy, Malcom Haines wrote a review article on the subject of pinches which contains the full argument; just pony up $90 for it. Worth the read in my opinion as it gives the history of pinches back to the 1900’s. Anyway, even if you create pure beams of ions and electrons in opposite directions, you have the send these beam through a dense gas. As the ions fly by they pull electrons from neutral atoms. It is possible that some electrons chase the ions. More likely, the gas in the direction of the generator is partly ionized due to UV so the electrons are already hanging out. They hitch-hike with the ions leading to a reduced current. I know a number of measurements disagree on the impact of these electrons but it is another loss term to consider.