Attainment of Gigavolt Potentials by Fluid Dynamic Suppression of the Stepped Leader its Significance for Thermonuclear Ignition

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to achieve gigavolt potentials using fluid dynamic suppression of electrical breakdown, enabling extremely high power pulses for potential thermonuclear ignition applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to reach gigavolt voltages by levitating and charging a conducting sphere in a high-pressure flow, surpassing traditional breakdown limits.

Findings

Potential to generate 10^17 Watt power pulses

Feasibility of controlling breakdown for energy release

Implications for thermonuclear ignition technology

Abstract

It is proposed to levitate a conducting sphere in a high pressure Taylor flow and to charge it up to gigavolt potentials, either mechanically as in a Van de Graaff electrostatic generator, or inductively by a rising magnetic field. If the Taylor flow is sufficiently fast, it should overcome the electric pressure and breakdown by stepped leader formation, leading to the maximum attainable voltage by the Paschen law. Discharging the electrostatically stored energy can be done by controlled breakdown. With gigajoule energies stored and released in about 10^-8 sec, this implies and electric pulse power of the order 10^17 Watt, opening the prospect of large driver energies for thermonuclear ignition.