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PHYSICAL RESEARCH
’ Los Alamos Sc3entific Laboratory
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Operation of the shock-mirror device, Scylla, at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
lent further support fo the jdea that the neutrons produced in this device may be thermonuclear,
Preliminary neutron energy measurementsfailed to disclose the existence of bombardment
or mass motion effects in the plasma, However, further work is necessary to establish conclusively the characteristics of the plasma.
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Studfes with Perhapsatron S-4 furnished additional experimental information on the complex behavior of stabilized toroidal pinch discharges, There {s some evidence for the existence
of small-scale turbulence or plasma oscillation effects at the plasma surface,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Development of a new (von Ardenne-type) fon source and high current capacity accelerating tube progressed to the point where these Improved components could be installed on the
DCX machine at Oak Ridge. Improved diagnostic techniques have been developed for studying
the “partial burnout” which may have been attained in a hydrogen plasma. The “burnout” condition will be reached when the injected ion beam current is high enough to overcome the cooling effects of the neutral gas background,
Princeton
Encouraging results were obtained from fon cyclotron heating studies with the B-65 Stellarator device. Plasma temperatures of approximately half a million degrees were maintained
for periods of several milliseconds by the radiofrequency power supply, operating at a power
level of about 250 kilowatts. As with the pinch devices, it is not known what loss processes
constitute the principal energy drain on the plasma, Under certain conditions, neutrons have
been produced in the B-65, but they are probably not of thermonuclear origin,
Design and fabrication of Model C components has begun. This work Js being carried out
by C, Stellarator Associates, a working group composed of personnel of Allis-Chalmers and
Radio Corporation of America, In August, Princeton decided to postpone detailed design and
fabrication of a portion of the projected radiofrequency heating equipment for the Model C
and to revise the design of the lower frequency (magnetic pumping) equipment.
Construction of the Phase I-A supporting facilities for Model C was one-third complete,
Separate contracts were awarded for construction of the Phase I buildings, which wil! house
the experiment2l complex. Building construction is essentially on schedule.
University of California Radiation Laboratory
In the mirror machine program at Livermore, emphasis continues to be on plasma diagnostics and on improvement of plasma sources and injection techniques.
The pinch group continued to study “anomalous” energy dissipation processes in pinch
discharges and the effects of runaway electrons on pinch behavior.
The general nature of the Astron approach was disclosed before an American Physical
Society meeting in August, Work continued on the relativistic electron injection system, and
an impressive electron beam has been developed,
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DOE ARCHIVES
COMPUTER RESEARCH
Research 2s begun on the application of cryogenics to computer technology. Use will be
made of the fact that it is possible to maintain circulating electrical currents indefinitely at
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