Highlights from the Dense Magnetized Plasma Conference in Warsaw, Poland November, 9-11, 2009
Per Eric Lerner:
Several of the presentations concentrated on the questions of small structures in the DPF—filaments and hotspots or plasmoids–testing the model of the DPF process first elaborated in the 1970’s by Winston Bostick and Victorrio Nardi. While controversial for many years, this model is now becoming central to much of the research in the field, as was demonstrated at this conference.
Reporting on work at the PF-1000 using laser interferometer, P.Kubes et al described hot spots 1 cm in radius with densities of up to 10^19 particle/ cm^3. While this is considerably larger than the plasmoids described in the Bostick-Nardi theory, there was other evidence that in fact the plasmoids in this machine are much smaller. E. Składnik-Sadowska et al showed with ion pinhole cameras and aluminum filters that the ion beams with energies above 700keV are narrowly focused to close to the pinhole size of 0.5 mm radius, implying that the beam originated from a similarly small region. That group also observed microbeams only 3 microns in radius.
The PF-1000 is rerunning with an anode radio of 11.5 cm, cathode radius 20 cm and electrode length of 48 cm.
Kubes also reported similarity small hot stops from the S-300 device at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, with 1 mm radii and density of 10^20/cm^3. W. Stepniewski also studied filamentation in a 2-D MHD simulation.
Finally, S.K.H Auluck asked the question: what generates the angular momentum in the DPF pinch? This is the same question that led to LPP’s idea that the initial magnetic field along the axis, supplied by the earth, is magnified to provide the angular momentum. Auluck answers differently, attributing the angular momentum to the creation of what is called a Turner Relaxed State.
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