Shiva Star
Encyclopedia
Shiva Star, originally just SHIVA, is a high-powered pulsed-power research device located at the Air Force Research Laboratory
on the Kirtland Air Force Base
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
. The device was originally built in the 1970s for high-power X-ray research, was later re-directed to studies for the Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), and is now being used for magnetized target fusion
research. Shiva Star was named after the Hindu god Shiva
, partly because its prototype originally had four "arms"; it now has six "arms".
Research at Princeton University
in using Z-Pinch
devices as a potential space propulsion device led to the exploration of the resulting x-ray
production. This led directly to the original SHIVA effort in 1971. In these experiments a thin foil of a "high-Z
" metal (lead, uranium, etc.) was rapidly compressed magnetically by dumping the output of capacitor banks into magnetic coils. As it was first built in 1974, SHIVA I consisted of four banks of capacitors arranged in a cross shape with the experimental chamber in the middle. The capacitors held 1 MJ at 100 kV, able to discharge them in 1 μs. Early experiments were hampered by problems with the implosion, but by 1976 successful implosions were being carried out. The capacitor banks were then upgraded to 1.9 MJ at 120 kV in 1979, becoming Shiva II. Another upgrade followed in 1982, adding two more capacitor banks, thereby changing the shape from a cross to a star, resulting in the current Shiva Star device. Shiva Star was also used as a dense plasma focus
driver in the mid-80s, and as an experimental magnetic driver for conventional projectiles in the late-80s.
Shiva Star was also used to develop an experimental weapon known as MARAUDER
for the SDI effort between 1989 and 1995. The idea appears to have been to create compact toroid
s of high-density plasma that would be ejected from the device using a massive magnetic pulse. The plasma projectiles would be shot at a speed expected to be 3000 km/s in 1995 and 10,000 km/s (3% of the speed of light
) by 2000. A shot has the energy of 5 pounds of TNT exploding; although it caused little or no physical damage, the energy would shower the interior of the target with high-energy x-rays that would potentially destroy the electronics inside. The tests cost a few million dollars a year. The project was scrapped at some time after 1995 because of problems keeping the plasma projectiles stable for the distances required by orbital weaponry.
Shiva Star was most recently revived for work in fusion research. A relatively new technique, magnetized target fusion
, compresses a small plasma load with an imploding metal foil. Shiva Star's 10 MJ capacitor banks were perfect for this role, and starting in 2007 the new FRCHX experiment has been using Shiva Star with 1 mm thick aluminium foil that is accelerated to about 5 km/s.
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and...
on the Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. The device was originally built in the 1970s for high-power X-ray research, was later re-directed to studies for the Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
(SDI), and is now being used for magnetized target fusion
Magnetized target fusion
Magnetized target fusion is a relatively new approach to producing fusion power that combines features of the more widely studied magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion approaches. Like the magnetic approach, the fusion fuel is confined at lower density by magnetic fields...
research. Shiva Star was named after the Hindu god Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, partly because its prototype originally had four "arms"; it now has six "arms".
Research at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in using Z-Pinch
Z-pinch
In fusion power research, the Z-pinch, also known as zeta pinch or Bennett pinch , is a type of plasma confinement system that uses an electrical current in the plasma to generate a magnetic field that compresses it...
devices as a potential space propulsion device led to the exploration of the resulting x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
production. This led directly to the original SHIVA effort in 1971. In these experiments a thin foil of a "high-Z
Atomic number
In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...
" metal (lead, uranium, etc.) was rapidly compressed magnetically by dumping the output of capacitor banks into magnetic coils. As it was first built in 1974, SHIVA I consisted of four banks of capacitors arranged in a cross shape with the experimental chamber in the middle. The capacitors held 1 MJ at 100 kV, able to discharge them in 1 μs. Early experiments were hampered by problems with the implosion, but by 1976 successful implosions were being carried out. The capacitor banks were then upgraded to 1.9 MJ at 120 kV in 1979, becoming Shiva II. Another upgrade followed in 1982, adding two more capacitor banks, thereby changing the shape from a cross to a star, resulting in the current Shiva Star device. Shiva Star was also used as a dense plasma focus
Dense plasma focus
A dense plasma focus is a machine that produces, by electromagnetic acceleration and compression, a short-lived plasma that is so hot and dense that it can cause nuclear fusion and emit X-rays. The electromagnetic compression of the plasma is called a pinch. It was invented in the early 1960s by...
driver in the mid-80s, and as an experimental magnetic driver for conventional projectiles in the late-80s.
Shiva Star was also used to develop an experimental weapon known as MARAUDER
MARAUDER
MARAUDER is, or was, a United States Government research project. It is an acronym of Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultra-high Directed Energy and Radiation. It was first reported on August 1, 1993....
for the SDI effort between 1989 and 1995. The idea appears to have been to create compact toroid
Compact toroid
Compact toroids are a class of toroidal plasma configurations that are self-stable, and whose configuration does not require magnet coils running through the center of the toroid. They are studied primarily in the field of fusion energy, where the lack of complex magnets and a simple geometry may...
s of high-density plasma that would be ejected from the device using a massive magnetic pulse. The plasma projectiles would be shot at a speed expected to be 3000 km/s in 1995 and 10,000 km/s (3% of the speed of light
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
) by 2000. A shot has the energy of 5 pounds of TNT exploding; although it caused little or no physical damage, the energy would shower the interior of the target with high-energy x-rays that would potentially destroy the electronics inside. The tests cost a few million dollars a year. The project was scrapped at some time after 1995 because of problems keeping the plasma projectiles stable for the distances required by orbital weaponry.
Shiva Star was most recently revived for work in fusion research. A relatively new technique, magnetized target fusion
Magnetized target fusion
Magnetized target fusion is a relatively new approach to producing fusion power that combines features of the more widely studied magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion approaches. Like the magnetic approach, the fusion fuel is confined at lower density by magnetic fields...
, compresses a small plasma load with an imploding metal foil. Shiva Star's 10 MJ capacitor banks were perfect for this role, and starting in 2007 the new FRCHX experiment has been using Shiva Star with 1 mm thick aluminium foil that is accelerated to about 5 km/s.
External links
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/Area51/shadowlands/6583/project294.html&date=2009-10-25+05:30:50