MECHANICAL ADIABATIC COMPRESSION OF A DENSE PLASMA

摘要

Thermonuclear fusion rates for particles of a single species are proportional to n~2, where n is the number density of the reacting particles. Standard magnetic confinement techniques employ relatively thin plasmas with n 10~(15) cm ~(-3) and therefore require temperatures of the order of 10~8 K. We propose a method to exploit the n~2 factor and hence attain appreciable fusion rates at much lower temperatures. We consider a dense gas of deuterium to undergo a rapid, adiabatic compression by a piston in an adiabatically insulated reaction chamber. A reduction in the degrees of freedom of the plasma particles, such as may be effected by an electric discharge during the compression, results in a higher final temperature for a given energy input. In model calculations, we consider the adiabatic compression of one mole of deuterium initially at room temperature and pressure and we compare the fusion energy release with the work done by the piston. We examine the effects of varying degrees of freedom and of the timing of their reduction within the compression interval. Additional fusion-enhancement factors such as the adiabatic insulating environment are discussed.