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Title: Nonthermal effects on the diagnostics of a collapsing gas shell Z-pinch

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7091864

The collapsing gas shell Z-pinch at Los Alamos is powered by a 72 kJ - 600 kV Marx bank. This Marx bank consists of twelve six-stage modules which are used to pulse charge a 1 ..cap omega..-90 ns long water line in approx. 500 ns. The plasma produced by this device has been well diagnosed, but rather than present the results of all the diagnostics, we will discuss only those relevant to nonthermal effects. First, we show a spectrum taken with a 1 m VUV spectrograph. A section of the spectrum has been microdensitometered to show that we observe Ar X-XIII in this spectrum. This same instrument was used to image the spectrum both axially and radially. The same portion of the spectrum discussed above is shown along with a time integrated, filtered (1 to 6 keV) x-ray pinhole picture. These pictures show that the collapsed plasma is axially inhomogenous, i.e., He-like argon, represented by the x-ray pinhole picture, forms in hot spots along the axis and lower ionization stages fill in the regions between the hot spots. Next we present a spectrum taken with a curved crystal instrument. This spectrum shows the argon XVII, He-like resonance and intercombination lines, along with satellite structures from argon X to XVI. Another part of the spectrum contains weak H-like lines.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
7091864
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-84-1077; CONF-8403100-1; ON: DE84009996
Resource Relation:
Conference: Conference of Z-pinches for fusion, Alexandria, VA, USA, 29 Mar 1984
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English