Related papers: Plasma Core Rocket Engines
In this paper we discuss the advantages and challenges of utilizing Fission Fragment Rocket Engines (FFREs) to dramatically reduce transit time in space travel, for example, traveling to Mars. We discuss methods to decrease the size and…
If fusion power reactors are to be feasible, it will still be necessary to convert the energy of the nuclear reaction into usable form. The heat produced will be removed from the reactor core by a primary coolant, which might be water,…
Inertial Confinement Fusion is a promising option to provide massive, clean, and affordable energy for humanity in the future. The present status of research and development is hindered by hydrodynamic instabilities occurring at the intense…
The physical goal of fusion energy research is to confine fusion fuel in a certain way so that the energy released from fusion exceeds the energy consumed to sustain the fusion process, thereby achieving economically viable energy…
For developing a laser boron fusion reactor driven by picosecond laser pulses of more than 30 petawatts power, advances are reported about computations for the plasma block generation by the dielectric explosion of the interaction. Further…
We study the structure and evolution of the accreting plasma in gamma ray burst central engines. The models are based on the general relativistic MHD simulations. The nuclear equation of state adequate for dense and degenerate plasma, is…
This work presents a more detailed analysis of the process of magnetic reconnection as promising ion beam accelerator mechanism with possible applications in laboratory plasmas and, more importantly, in the plasma propulsion field. In a…
We report experimental results validating the concept that plasma confinement is enhanced in a magnetic cusp configuration when beta (plasma pressure/magnetic field pressure) is order of unity. This enhancement is required for a fusion…
As an application of the solution of the equations of electromagnetic self-consistency in a plasma, found in a previous paper, the study of controlled thermo-nuclear fusion is undertaken. This study utilizes the resonance which can be…
Estimated masses of fissioning and non-fissioning radioactive elements and their respective distributions within the Earth are presented, based upon the fundamental identity of the components of the interior 82% of the Earth, the…
We introduce a novel fusion scheme enabled by laser-plasma solitons, which promises to overcome several fundamental obstructions to reaching the breakeven condition. For concreteness, we invoke deuterium-tritium (DT) as fuels. The intense…
Recent pulsed-power experiments have demonstrated the formation of astrophysically-relevant, differentially rotating plasmas [1]. Key features of the plasma flows are the discovery of a quasi-Keplerian rotation curve, the launching of…
This Chapter provides a brief tutorial on some aspects of plasma physics that are fundamental to understanding the dynamics and energetics of the intracluster medium (ICM). The tutorial is split into two parts: one that focuses on the…
The main aim of this paper is to solve the technological problems of the TWR based on the technical concept described in our priority of invention reference, which makes it impossible, in particular, for the fuel claddings damaging doses of…
Differentially rotating flows of unmagnetized, highly conducting plasmas have been created in the Plasma Couette Experiment. Previously, hot-cathodes have been used to control plasma rotation by a stirring technique [C. Collins et al.,…
Pebble-bed nuclear reactor technology, which is currently being revived around the world, raises fundamental questions about dense granular flow in silos. A typical reactor core is composed of graphite fuel pebbles, which drain very slowly…
We present hybrid PIC simulations of fast electron transport and energy deposition in pre-compressed fusion targets, taking full account of collective magnetic effects and the hydrodynamic response of the background plasma. Results on…
We consider the physics of neutrinos in a fireball, i.e. a tightly coupled plasma of photons, positrons and electrons. Such a fireball is believed to form in the first stages of a gamma-ray burst. We assume the fireball is…
The paper investigates the feasibility of achieving uniform high-power volume heating for a fusion reactor concept employing a mixed fuel composition involving $\text{pBDT}$. The realm of mixed fuel fusion concepts remains relatively…
We present results from three-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations of unmagnetized dense plasma jet injection into a uniform hot strongly magnetized plasma, with the aim of providing insight into core fueling of a tokamak with…