RUI: Using a Sectored Conducting Wall to Study Normal Modes and Transport in a Toroidal Electron Plasma

RUI：使用扇形导电壁研究环形电子等离子体中的正常模式和输运

• 批准号: 1202540
• 负责人: Matthew Stoneking
• 金额: $ 16.35万
• 依托单位: LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-15 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1202540&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Using; Sectored; Conducting; Wall

A promising route to fusion power for electricity production is the tokamak - a toroidal (or bagel-shaped) magnetic confinement device that confines hot plasma composed of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons. Non-neutral plasma, on the other hand, which is composed of relatively cold particles all of one type (either positively or negatively charged), is typically trapped in a straight device that uses a combination of electric and magnetic fields. Such non-neutral systems are used to store antimatter and also serve as candidates for quantum computing elements and next generation precision time standards, among other uses. The project at Lawrence University, a four-year liberal arts college, might be characterized as lying "between a clock and a hot place," as it uses a toroidal magnetic field (like the tokamak) to confine and study a pure electron (i.e., non-neutral) plasma. The apparatus, which was designed and constructed with prior NSF/DOE support, is uniquely positioned to explore untested fundamental aspects of the physics of charged particle collections in a curved and non-uniform magnetic field that closes on itself. The project will provide research experiences (as well as scientific authorship and presentation opportunities) for undergraduate students. Undergraduate research experiences in this small college environment tend to provide more comprehensive research skills training than comparable experiences at larger institutions, thereby contributing in significant ways to developing the future workforce in technical fields. Thanks to Lawrence's success in attracting women physics majors (27% of the physics graduates in the last 5 years) and increasing minority enrollment in the university (145% increase since 2000), the research will positively impact the engagement of underrepresented groups in the physics PhD pipeline. The apparatus will also be used to recruit promising high school students to the Lawrence University physics program and expose the campus and local communities to the subject of plasma physics.

托卡马克是一种很有前途的聚变发电途径，它是一种环形（或百吉饼形）磁约束装置，可限制由带正电的离子和带负电的电子组成的热等离子体。 另一方面，非中性等离子体由相对较冷的所有一种类型（带正电或负电）的粒子组成，通常被捕获在使用电场和磁场组合的直装置中。 这种非中性系统用于存储反物质，也可作为量子计算元件和下一代精确时间标准的候选者，以及其他用途。 劳伦斯大学是一所四年制文理学院，该项目可能被描述为位于“时钟和热点之间”，因为它使用环形磁场（如托卡马克）来限制和研究纯电子（即。 ，非中性）等离子体。 该装置是在美国国家科学基金会/美国能源部之前的支持下设计和建造的，具有独特的定位，可以探索自封闭的弯曲且不均匀的磁场中带电粒子集合物理学的未经测试的基本方面。 该项目将为本科生提供研究经验（以及科学著作和演讲机会）。与大型机构的类似经验相比，小型大学环境中的本科研究经验往往能提供更全面的研究技能培训，从而为技术领域未来劳动力的培养做出重大贡献。由于劳伦斯大学成功吸引了物理学专业的女性（过去 5 年占物理学毕业生的 27%）并增加了大学少数族裔的入学率（自 2000 年以来增加了 145%），这项研究将对代表性不足的群体参与物理学产生积极影响博士管道。该设备还将用于招收有前途的高中生参加劳伦斯大学物理课程，并使校园和当地社区接触等离子体物理主题。