Abstract: A Bernas ion source having a shield is disclosed. The shield is disposed between the distal portion of the filament and the first end of the chamber and serves to confine the plasma to the region between the shield and the second end of the chamber. The shield may be electrically connected to the negative leg of the filament so as to be the most negatively biased component in the chamber. In other embodiments, the shield may be electrically floating. In this embodiment, the shield may self-bias. The shield is typically made of a refractory metal. The use of the shield may reduce back heating of the filament by the plasma and reduce the possibility for thermal runaway. This may allow denser plasmas to be generated within the chamber.

Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for ion trapping with integrated electromagnets are described herein. One device includes a plurality of electrodes configured to trap an ion above a surface of the device, a medial coil and a plurality of peripheral coils, each positioned at a respective radial angle associated with the medial coil, wherein the medial coil is configured to generate a first magnetic field having a first orientation, and wherein the peripheral coils are configured to generate a second magnetic field having a second orientation that opposes the first orientation.

Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for ion trapping with integrated electromagnets are described herein. One device includes a plurality of electrodes configured to trap an ion above a surface of the device, a medial coil and a plurality of peripheral coils, each positioned at a respective radial angle associated with the medial coil, wherein the medial coil is configured to generate a first magnetic field having a first orientation, and wherein the peripheral coils are configured to generate a second magnetic field having a second orientation that opposes the first orientation.

Abstract: A magnetohydrodynamic simulator that includes a plasma container. The magnetohydrodynamic simulator also includes an first ionizable gas substantially contained within the plasma container. In addition, the magnetohydrodynamic simulator also includes a first loop positioned adjacent to the plasma container, wherein the first loop includes a gap, a first electrical connection on a first side of the gap, a second electrical connection of a second side of the gap, and a first material having at least one of low magnetic susceptibility and high conductivity. The first loop can be made up from an assembly of one or a plethora or wire loop coils. In such cases, electrical connection is made through the ends of the coil wires. The magnetohydrodynamic simulator further includes an electrically conductive first coil wound about the plasma container and through the first loop.

Abstract: A magnetohydrodynamic simulator that includes a plasma container. The magnetohydrodynamic simulator also includes an first ionizable gas substantially contained within the plasma container. In addition, the magnetohydrodynamic simulator also includes a first loop positioned adjacent to the plasma container, wherein the first loop includes a gap, a first electrical connection on a first side of the gap, a second electrical connection of a second side of the gap, and a first material having at least one of low magnetic susceptibility and high conductivity. The first loop can be made up from an assembly of one or a plethora or wire loop coils. In such cases, electrical connection is made through the ends of the coil wires. The magnetohydrodynamic simulator further includes an electrically conductive first coil wound about the plasma container and through the first loop.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling charged particles. The charged particles comprise electrons and positive ions. A magnetic field having only point cusps is used to confine energetic injected electrons and so to generate a negative potential well. Positive ions injected into or created within the negative potential well are trapped therein. The magnetic field is generated by current-carrying elements arranged at positions spaced from but closely adjacent and parallel to edges of a polyhedron which has an even number of faces surrounding each vertex or corner. The current-carrying elements must be spaced apart at their corners (the vertices of the polyhedron) so as not to touch, and the containing structures for the current-carrying coils of the magnetic-field-providing system are conformal to the fields so produced.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a nuclear fusion-generating device includes a cathodic magnet having a polyhedral structure formed from current-carrying leg sections and adapted to generate a multi-poled magnetic field such that the curvature of the magnetic field lines are everywhere convex within a magnet interior region. An ion generating system injects ions into a center of the magnet interior region at energies favoring a nuclear fusion cross-section of the ions. The current-carrying elements can be powered and configured to confine electrons into the center of the magnet interior region to function as a cathode that neutralizes ionic space charges and facilitates ion movement along paths that do not intersect solid structures. The current-carrying elements can be formed with a radial-to-azimuthal aspect ratio that favors increased transparency to the ions without sacrificing magnetic field strength.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accelerating charged particles. The charged particles accelerate as they travel through electric fields produced by a plurality of accelerating elements having first and second electrode plates. A magnetic field produced by a pair of magnets causes the charged particles to travel in a generally circular orbit.

Abstract: An electron injection scheme for controlling transport in a tokamak plasma. Electrons with predominantly perpendicular energy are injected into a ripple field region created by a group of localized poloidal field bending magnets. The trapped electrons then grad-B drift vertically toward the plasma interior until they are detrapped, charging the plasma negative. Calculations indicate that the highly perpendicular velocity electrons can remain stable against kinetic instabilities in the regime of interest for tokamak experiments. The penetration distance can be controlled by controlling the "ripple mirror ratio", the energy of the injected electrons, and their v.sub..perp. /v.sub.51 ratio. In this scheme, the poloidal torque due to the injected radial current is taken by the magnets and not by the plasma. Injection is accomplished by the flat cathode containing an ECH cavity to pump electrons to high v.sub..perp..

Abstract: A solid state stripper for stripping H.sup.- to H.sup.O is provided that includes a very thin solid state material such as polyvinylidene chloride, mica, and cellophane that is moved at a predetermined speed in front of an accelerated beam of negative ions to cause the negative ions to be stripped to form neutral ions as they pass through the solid state stripper material.

Abstract: A method for generating a beam of negatively charged hydrogen ions is described which comprises the steps of providing a source of metal hydride, heating the hydride to extract either atomic hydrogen or negative hydrogen ions directly therefrom, directing an electron beam onto the hydride or applying electrical charge to the hydride in order to ionize the hydrogen atoms or to prevent the ions from losing charge, and electrically accelerating the negative hydrogen ions so produced as a directed beam.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling charged particles. The charged particles comprise electrons and positive ions. A magnetic field having only point cusps is used to confine injected electrons and so to generate a negative potential well. Positive ions injected into the negative potential well are trapped therein. The preferred means for generating the magnetic field is current-carrying elements arranged at positions corresponding to the edges of any of several truncated regular polyhedrons.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for highly polarizing a fast beam of particles by collisional pumping, including generating a fast beam of particles, and also generating a thick electron-spin-polarized medium positioned as a target for the beam. The target is made sufficiently thick to allow the beam to interact with the medium to produce collisional pumping whereby the beam becomes highly polarized.

Abstract: Negative ion source making it possible to produce an intense beam of negative ions, particularly of hydrogen and deuterium, as well as negative ions of other species. According to the main feature of this negative ion source, the number and distribution of the permanent magnets forming the magnetic multicusp confinement is chosen in such a way that the confinement time of the primary electrons is between 10.sup.-7 and 10.sup.-6 second and the thermionic electron emitters are located in the multicusp magnetic field between the saddle point of the magnetic field, formed by two adjacent permanent magnets and the center of the plasma in the vicinity of said saddle points. It is advantageously applied to the production of high-energy neutral atom beams used e.g. as an effective means for heating plasmas, produced in magnetic confinement fusion means.

Abstract: This is one of a series of nuclear fusion (vs. fission) inventions by this physicist-inventor. This invention is designed to burn the cleanest of all known fusion fuels: boron hydride (B-H, or p-.sup.11 B). Boron hydride has no free neutrons on either side of its reaction equation: p+.sup.11 B=3.alpha.+W. If this fuel can be made to fuse as planned the many problems associated with neutron-based fuels, deuterium-tritium (D-T) in particular, can be obviated. D-T gives off 80% of its energy in the form of neutrons. These make the apparatus radioactive; and the neutrons may be used to breed weapons grade fission material. Whereas, p-.sup.11 B cannot be used to make fission bomb material; its product particles are entirely safe inert helium particles. B-H fuel is abundant, available and inexpensive. Boron hydride comes in gas, liquid or solid form, stable or unstable. The invention at hand proposes to accelerate macromolecular ions of boron hydride (such as B.sub.2 H.sub.

Abstract: A negative ion source is provided which has extremely low transverse divergence as a result of a unique ion focusing system in which the focal line of an ion beam emanating from an elongated, concave converter surface is outside of the ion exit slit of the source and the path of the exiting ions. The beam source operates with a minimum ion temperature which makes possible a sharply focused (extremely low transverse divergence) ribbon like negative ion beam.

Abstract: The disclosed negative ion source uses a solid-state element having a semiconductor portion, which source includes a region adapted to dissociate molecules of hydrogen or deuterium in said solid-state element by dissolution, another region adapted to convert the atoms generated through the dissociation of said molecules into negative ions as said atoms reach the proximity of surface of said solid-state element through diffusion process by resonance transition of electrons in said solid-state element and to liberate the thus produced negative ions from said surface by hot electrons in said solid-state element, wherein the dissociation, electronic resonance transition, and liberation continuously occur in succession.

Abstract: An ionization vessel is divided into an ionizing zone and an extraction zone by a magnetic filter. The magnetic filter prevents high-energy electrons from crossing from the ionizing zone to the extraction zone. A small positive voltage impressed on a plasma grid, located adjacent an extraction grid, positively biases the plasma in the extraction zone to thereby prevent positive ions from migrating from the ionizing zone to the extraction zone. Low-energy electrons, which would ordinarily be dragged by the positive ions into the extraction zone, are thereby prevented from being present in the extraction zone and being extracted along with negative ions by the extraction grid. Additional electrons are suppressed from the output flux using ExB drift provided by permanent magnets and the extractor grid electrical field.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming and utilizing a sequence of electron beam segments, each of the same temporal length (substantially 15 nsec), with consecutive beams being separated by a constant time interval of the order of 3 nsec. The beam sequence is used for simultaneous inputs to a plurality of wiggler magnet systems that also accept the laser beams to be amplified by interaction with the co-propagating electron beams. The electron beams are arranged substantially in a circle to allow proper distribution of and simultaneous switching out of the beam segments to their respective wiggler magnets.

Abstract: A method and means for accelerating charged particle beams having very high current densities to relativistic energies, as, for example, embodied in a betatron capable of carrying a current of many tens of kiloamperes at energies up to at least 300 Mev. The basic principle underlying the present invention is the containment of a beam of charged particles, more particularly a beam of electrons, by a magnetic field directed along the beam. As the strength of the magnetic field is increased as a function of time the beam of electrons becomes compressed in the direction transverse to the beam into a region of high charge density. The electrons may then be accelerated along the direction of the magnetic field to form an ultra-relativistic beam. At such high energies the beam tends to be stable and the containing magnetic field is no longer necessary. The magnetic field may therefore be permitted to decay.

Abstract: A source for a high density electrically neutral beam of combined positive and negative particles suitable for bombardment and heating of a pellet of nuclear fusion material to fusion temperature. A source mounted in a housing with a spherical substrate and providing free elements at the surface thereof, an electron beam for ionizing the free elements to produce positive ions, first, second and third grids spaced from each other along beam paths, and electron emitters, all for providing positive ion beams and electron beams at the same velocity for mixing to provide an overall neutral electrical charge. A porous substrate for passing a gas under pressure to the surface for ionizing. A porous substrate charged with solids, and a heater for vaporizing the solids for passing to the surface for ionizing.