Like a Pistol Shrimp with 2,5 Million Joules

Launching equipment

Here, too, it is not possible to do entirely without a magnetic field, although it is not used to shape and hold the plasma, but to accelerate the projectile. A discharge of around 14 million amperes generates a magnetic field for less than two microseconds, from which 200 kJ of kinetic energy is transferred to the projectile. This corresponds to about 20 kilometers per second.

The plasma is created when the projectile hits a target. Six capacitor banks are required for field generation, which are charged to approx. 200 kV in one minute and discharged in just under two microseconds. 2.5 million joules are used per discharge.

Digitizers from Germany

The synchronous operation in the nanosecond range of all six capacitor banks is technically demanding. The electrical energy is stored in 192 capacitors arranged in pairs. Each of the 96 pairs is controlled by its own switch.

To control the discharge sequence, after firing, digitizer cards (M2i.4912-exp )from the German manufacturer Spectrum Instrumentation record several hundred measured values of each capacitor and the current and voltage values from the sensors in the capacitor banks with a sampling rate of 10 MS/s. The data is stored on the digitizer cards. With "Star Hub" modules, the 32 digitizer cards are connected in two banks of 16 each to ensure the synchronicity of all 256 input channels.

Successful Fusion Process by 2024

After a successful projectile launch with three capacitor banks last year, operation with all six banks is now possible. A successful fusion process should be developed by 2024 according to the company. That does not mean that the technology is ready for series production. It rather indicates that the threshold is taken when a fusion process delivers more energy than it requires.

1. Like a Pistol Shrimp with 2,5 Million Joules
2. Launching equipment