Whence Z-pinches? A personal view

Pereira N. R.

doi:10.1063/1.5133378

Volume 5 Issue 2

Mar. 2020

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Pereira N. R.. Whence Z-pinches? A personal view[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2020, 5(2): 026402. doi: 10.1063/1.5133378

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Pereira N. R.. Whence Z-pinches? A personal view[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2020, 5(2): 026402. doi: 10.1063/1.5133378

Pereira N. R.. Whence Z-pinches? A personal view[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2020, 5(2): 026402. doi: 10.1063/1.5133378

Citation:

Pereira N. R.. Whence Z-pinches? A personal view[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2020, 5(2): 026402. doi: 10.1063/1.5133378

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Whence Z-pinches? A personal view

doi: 10.1063/1.5133378

Pereira N. R.^{,
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Ecopulse, Inc., Springfield, Virginia 22152, USA

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Corresponding author: a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: ninorpereira@gmail.com. URL: http://www.ecopulse.com
Received Date: 2019-10-25
Accepted Date: 2020-02-16

Available Online: 2020-03-01

Publish Date: 2020-03-15

Abstract

Abstract

The first Dense Z-Pinch (DZP) conference, in 1984, marked an attempt to use then-modern pulsed power with a Z-pinch to work toward thermonuclear fusion energy. This 11th DZP conference in China is a good time to look back, to comment on progress since, and to project forward. What follows is a personal perspective: scattered comments from a sympathetic outsider and one-time participant. In these 35 years, Z-pinch theory has evolved from little more than cartoons to fully 3D MHD computer simulations, measurements have gone from mostly time- and spatially integrated diagnostics to monochromatic imaging, highly resolved x-ray spectroscopy, and active laser probing. Large pulsed power generators now drive x-ray-producing Z-pinches that are powerful enough for many applications; thermonuclear fusion may work single-shot in the future.

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References(49)

References

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