An Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) device was assembled at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Propulsion Research Center (PRC) to study the possibility of using IEC technology for deep space propulsion and power. Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement is capable of containing a nuclear fusion plasma in a series of virtual potential wells. These wells would substantially increase plasma confinement, possibly leading towards a high-gain, breakthrough fusion device. A one-foot in diameter IEC vessel was borrowed from the Fusion Studies Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for the summer. This device was used in initial parameterization studies in order to design a larger, actively cooled device for permanent use at the PRC.
Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion For Space Propulsion
1999
7 pages
Report
No indication
English
Recent Advances in Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion for Space Power and Propulsion
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
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