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Exploding Wires: an overarching subject area
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In one major line of research, faculty, staff and students associated
with the Center carry out experiments and computer simulations
addressing the fundamental physics of exploding wires and multi-wire
arrays in different arrangements. The basic configuration is a current
carrying plasma column in which the current is sufficiently high that
the resulting plasma implodes upon itself due to the magnetic forces.
This configuration is commonly called a z-pinch, referring to the z-axis
of a cylindrical coordinate system.
Applications of exploding wires:
The applications we address include understanding individual wire
dynamics in wire-array z-pinches, laboratory simulation of astrophysical
phenomena, studies of radiation-dominated dense plasmas, interaction of
plasma jets with target plasmas, and the atomic physics of highly
stripped high-Z elements. Experiments will utilize ~1 MA pulsed power
generators at Cornell and Imperial College. Data will be used to
benchmark computer simulation codes that are used to study HEDP plasmas
in nature, in the laboratory, and in situations of interest to the NNSA.
Some experiments will be carried out as collaborative efforts with
Sandia scientists either at Center facilities or using the Z-machine at
Sandia.
Exploding Wires at low current:
We also carry out “Warm Dense Matter” research in the form of
exploding wire experiments in which 100-1000 A, ~100 ns current pulses
are used to superheat fine wires of various materials. The resulting
mixed-phase explosive expansion is carefully monitored by a variety
of diagnostic instruments as discussed above for wire arrays.
Opportunities to use the low current exploding wire experiments for
studies of the polarizabilities and phase transitions of metals that are
of interest to NNSA scientists will be explored. Likewise, we will
pursue the possibility that high-current (50-100 kA per wire)
exploding-wire experiments can lead to fruitful studies of
magnetically-driven shock waves in warm, dense, multiphase material.
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