Download or read book Laser Fusion Experiments at 2 TW. [ARGUS Implosions of D--T Microspheres]. written by and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory solid state laser system, ARGUS, has successfully performed laser implosion experiments at power levels exceeding 2 TW. D-T filled glass microspheres have been imploded to yield thermonuclear reaction products in excess of 108 per event. Neutron and .cap alpha. time of flight measurements indicate that D-T ion temperatures of (3 to 4.5 keV) and a density confinement time product (n tau) of approximately (1 to 3) x 1012 were obtained in these experiments. Typically two 30J, 30 psec pulses of 1.06 .mu.m light were focused on targets using 20 cm aperture f/l lenses, producing intensities at the target in excess of 1016 W/cm2. An extensive array of diagnostics routinely monitored the laser performance and the laser target interaction process. Measurements of absorption and asymmetry in both the scattered light distribution and the ion blow off is evidence for non-classical resonant processes absorption mechanisms and density scale heights of the order of 2.mu.m or less. The symmetry of the thermonuclear burn region is investigated by monitoring the .cap alpha. particle flux in several directions, and an experiment to image the thermonuclear burn region is in process. These experiments significantly extend our data base and our understanding of laser induced thermonuclear implosions and the basic laser plasma interaction physics from the 0.4 to 0.7 TW level of previous experiments.