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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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Christmas Night
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the houseNo electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged in by the chimney with careWith the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
Haibo B. Chen, Brian Hilko, Jiong Chen, Emilio Panarella
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 27 | Number 3 | May 1995 | Pages 245-254
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30387
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The spherical pinch is an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) system modified by the inclusion of a preformed plasma in the center of a spherical vessel. The central plasma acts as a target for the imploding shock waves of the ICF. Upon compression by these shock waves, the central plasma attains temperatures higher and containment times longer than the ICF, thus facilitating the objective of fusion. The current study examined the spherical pinch as a source of useful radiation for applications that can go from testing mirrors for space exploration to the microscopy of biological specimens, paper radiography, and microlithography. This study was a continuation of previous work in which the radiation emission characteristics of the spherical pinch are theoretically studied. It included a detailed numerical simulation of the spherical pinch model as a radiation emitter in terms of density, pressure, temperature, and bremsstrahlung emission in the whole spectrum and in the soft X-ray region. A better understanding of the radiation production mechanism was thus gained from the current numerical study. Some indications on the usefulness of the concept for industrial applications are provided.