Plasma confinement apparatus using solenoidal and mirror coils

• US 4,166,760 A
• Filed: 10/04/1977
• Issued: 09/04/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: United States Department of Energy (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: United States Department of Energy (Government of the United States of America)
• Inventors: Condit, William C., Fowler, T. Kenneth
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cangialosi, S. A.
• Application Number:
  US05/839,226
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 176/1, 176/3, 176/6-8
• US Class Current: 376/140
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/14 wherein the containment vessel is straight and has magnetic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/10 Nuclear fusion reactors

Abstract

A plasma confinement apparatus, wherein multiple magnetic mirror cells are linked by magnetic field lines inside of a solenoid with the mirroring regions for adjacent magnetic mirror cells each formed by a separate mirror coil inside of the solenoid. The magnetic mirror cells may be field reversed.

Claims

1. An apparatus for confining a plasma using multiple magnetic mirrors within a solenoid of discrete solenoidal coils, having a magnetic field of sufficient strength to laterally confine said plasma, each not touching an adjacent solenoidal coil and each having an axis normal to a plane centered on and running through windings of the solenoidal coil the apparatus comprising:

a solenoid of discrete solenoidal coils spaced apart linearly each axis being collinear at no more than solenoidal coil radius intervals generating a magnetic field of a strength sufficient to laterally confine the plasma desired and of a solenoidal coil radius sufficient to allow room for shielding to substantially attenuate plasma nuclear reaction products;

a shield inside the solenoidal coil radius to substantially attenuate plasma nuclear reaction products;

at least three mirror coils, each mirror coil located in a coplanar manner concentrically within a discrete solenoidal coil which is at least one end of the solenoid and which is adjacent to at least one other solenoidal coil which is concentrically located about another of the mirror coils and with the at least three mirror coils generating the magnetic field maxima necessary for at least three magnetic mirrors within the solenoid with the at least three mirror coils being shielded from the plasma only by a plurality of Ioffe bars, the Ioffe bars being inside a mirror coil radius.

2. An apparatus for confining a plasma as in claim 1, further including a particle source for introducing particles between the magnetic mirrors, the particles to be magnetically confined.

3. An apparatus for confining a plasma as in claim 2, wherein the particle source produces a neutral beam.

4. An apparatus for confining a plasma as in claim 1, wherein the plasma between each magnetic mirror forms a field reversed magnetic mirror cell.

5. An apparatus for confining a plasma as in claim 4, wherein the field reversal is due to charged particles with a small gyroradius relative to the dimensions of the field reversed region in each field reversed magnetic mirror cell.

6. An apparatus for confining a plasma as in claim 4, wherein the charged particles setting up the field reversal are comprised of at least one isotope of hydrogen.

7. A method for confining a plasma between multiple magnetic mirrors with a solenoid of discrete solenoidal coils having a magnetic field of sufficient strength to laterally confine said plasma, each not touching on adjacent solenoidal coil and each having an axis normal to a plane centered on and running through windings of the solenoidal coil, the method comprising the steps of:

positioning the solenoidal coils at intervals between discrete solenoidal coils of no more than the radius of a solenoidal coil each axis being collinear;

generating a magnetic field by means of the discrete solenoidal coils of sufficient strength to laterally confine the plasma desired and having solenoidal coil radius sufficient to allow room for shielding to substantially attenuate plasma nuclear reaction products;

positioning a shield inside the solenoidal coil radius to substantially attenuate plasma nuclear reaction products;

positioning each of at least three mirror coils in a coplanar manner concentrically within a discrete solenoidal coil which is at least one end of the solenoid and which is adjacent to at least one other solenoidal coil which is concentrically located about another of the mirror coils;

generating a magnetic field by means of at least three mirror coils to form at least three magnetic field maxima for at least three magnetic mirrors within the solenoid shielding the at least three mirror coils from the plasma only by positioning a plurality of Ioffe bars inside a mirror coil radius.

8. A method for confining a plasma as in claim 7, further including a particle source for introducing particles between the magnetic mirrors, the particles to be magnetically confined.

9. A method for confining a plasma as in claim 8, whrein the particles to be magnetically confined are injected between magnetic field maxima in a neutral beam.

10. A method for confining a plasma as in claim 9, wherein each injected neutral beam contributes to forming a field reversed region between each of the magnetic field maxima.

11. A method for confining a plasma as in claim 10, wherein the field reversal is due to charged particles with a small gyroradius relative to the dimensions of each field reversed region.

12. A method for confining a plasma as in claim 11, wherein the charged particles setting up the field reversal are comprised of at least one isotope of hydrogen.