PULSED PLASMA ACCELERATOR AND METHOD

摘要

A pulsed plasma accelerator comprises two electrodes (1) arranged between dielectric bars (2) made from an ablating material, a discharge channel with an open end part whose walls are defined by the surfaces of electrodes (1) and dielectric bars (2), an energy accumulator (11) and current supplies (14,15) for connecting the electrodes (1) with the energy accumulator (11). The current supplies (14, 15) define in conjunction with the electrodes (1) and the energy accumulator (11) an external electric circuit, with characteristics of the external electric circuit being selected on the condition: 2 <= C/L, where C (µF) is the electric capacitance of the external electric circuit, and L is the inductance of the external electric circuit, L <= 100 nH. During operation of the plasma accelerator, quazi-nonperiodic pulse discharges are ignited and maintained in the discharge channel. By providing coordinated parameters of the external and internal circuits, a substantial increase in the efficiency of plasma acceleration is achieved.