THE THERMIONIC ENERGY CONVERTER. Technical Report 373

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1960

OSTI ID:4126887

Nottingham, W B

The general theory of a plasma diode energy converter is presented. Equations are presented for determining the electron injection energy directly from the following parameters: work-function of the emitter, emitter temperature, condensation of the cesium supply, and an estimation concerning the average temperature of the gas in the space between the emitter and the collector. Equations are presented for determining the probable fraction of the cesium concentration that is ionized in the plasma space. It is shown that under suitable conditions, a positive ion spacecharge sheath forms in the immediate neighborhood of the emitier, and, as a result of this space-charge situation, electrons are accelerated from the emitter into the intervening space. In this space plasma oscillations develop and the electron-energy distribution changes to a quasiMaxwell-Boltzmann distribution characterized by a temperature of 5000 deg K or more. A methed is presented for the computation of the electrical properties of a close-space thermionic converter. The theoretical background by which the performance characteristics of the high-vacuum diede can be evaluated in terms of emitter temperature, spacing between emitter and collector, and work- function of the collector is presented. (C.J.G.)

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge. Research Lab. of Electronics
• NSA Number: NSA-15-003208
• OSTI ID: 4126887
• Report Number(s): NP-9329
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CESIUM
COMPUTERS
CONVERSION
ELECTRONS
ENERGY
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
PHYSICS
PLASMA
TEMPERATURE
THERMOELECTRIC CELLS