Method and apparatus for accelerating a solid mass
US4429612A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 18, 1979 |
| Grant date | Feb 7, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 18, 1999 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E30/10
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An axi-symmetrical projectile, having a mass ranging from fractions of a gram to kilograms, is accelerated to velocities in the range of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.7 centimeters per second by a propelling force produced by a plasma resulting from electric discharge. The discharge is imploded against the projectile surface so lines of the magnetic fields are approximately azimuthal around the projectile axis. The projectile is tapered so it experiences a net, stable axial accelerating force along the accelerator axis by the combined action of the magnetic field producing radially directed momentum and pressure on the plasma, the interaction of the magnetic field and ions induced by the plasma on the surface, as well as material the plasma ablates from the surface. The plasma discharge is initiated either in low density background gas between anode and cathode of a discharge module, or along an insulator surface between the electrodes in low density background gas. Alternatively, in either of these situations the discharge can be initiated in a gas which is produced by ablation of the projectile surface. In an alternative situation, the projectile acts as a switch for triggering discharges. …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.