Abstract
The Centurion–Halite experiment demonstrated the feasibility of igniting a deuterium–tritium micro-explosion with an energy of not more than a few megajoule, and the Mike test, the feasibility of a pure deuterium explosion with an energy of more than 106 MJ. In both cases the ignition energy was supplied by a fission bomb explosive. While an energy of a few megajoule, to be released in the time required of less than 10−9 s, can be supplied by lasers and intense particle beams, this is not enough to ignite a pure deuterium explosion. Because the deuterium–tritium reaction depends on the availability of lithium, the non-fission ignition of a pure deuterium fusion reaction would be highly desirable. It is shown that this goal can conceivably be reached with a “Super Marx Generator”, where a large number of “ordinary” Marx generators charge (magnetically insulated) fast high voltage capacitors of a second stage Marx generator, called a “Super Marx Generator”, ultimately reaching gigavolt potentials with an energy output in excess of 100 MJ. An intense 107 Ampere-GeV proton beam drawn from a “Super Marx Generator” can ignite a deuterium thermonuclear detonation wave in a compressed deuterium cylinder, where the strong magnetic field of the proton beam entraps the charged fusion reaction products inside the cylinder. In solving the stand-off problem, the stiffness of a GeV proton beam permits to place the deuterium target at a comparatively large distance from the wall of a cavity confining the deuterium micro-explosion.
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Notes
With a convergent shock wave ignition in the center of the compressed deuterium sphere this energy is less, but even then still much more than a few megajoule.
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Acknowledgment
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Stephan Fuelling for his valuable comments and suggestions, and for the real artwork he has done.
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Winterberg, F. Ignition of a Deuterium Micro-Detonation with a Gigavolt Super Marx Generator. J Fusion Energ 28, 290–295 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-008-9189-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-008-9189-3