Patent Number: 041994027
Section: summary

BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART The feasability of generating electricity by plasma formation has been demonstrated by two processes, the subject of considerable experimentation. According to one process, it has been found that gasses, particularly monatomic helium agron or neon, can be ionized to produce a plasma which, when confined and passed through a fixed magnetic field, induces a useful voltage. Various gas formulations seeded with additional ions have been used with limited success. In another process under study, Duterium and Tritium are bombarded with laser energy to produce large quantities of useful heat for driving turbines. Tritium by-products are also produced which can be recycled in the process. The disadvantage of this process resides in the need to confine the ions within a limited volume, i.e., a "plasma bottle" for a sufficient time period in order that the ions are compressed or, more specifically, imploded by laser energy to release useful heat. The heat produced is accordingly a function of the ion density and the confinement time of the ions within the plasma bottle. It has been found that electromagnetic radiation at the plasma boundary is a serious drawback to successful fusion over extended periods of time and also to obtaining efficient energy conversion. The leakage phenomenon, known as the Bremsstrahlung effect, reduces the plasma temperature such that the desired temperature of fusion cannot be attained for a time period to satisfy the well known Lawson criterion. The escaped ions and radiation also are lost to the atmosphere together with their potential for energy production. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to plasma generation for either nuclear fusion or magnetohydrodynamic production by eliminating the drawbacks of the prior art plasma systems wherein the Bremsstrahlung effect presents itself to lower the temperature of the plasma or to extinguish a fusion process. The present invention further accommodates the transient kinetic nature of the ions and escaping radiation, recycling the kinetic energy, radiation and mass of the ions to sustain plasma generation rather than permitting escape of the ions. As a further feature, the positive particles may be passed through a fixed magnetic field to produce a magnetohydrodynamic effect as an alternative to fusion. These features are accomplished by confining the particles in a closed loop path of an accelerator using a multiple number of sections or locations about the closed loop path to provide nodes of relative minimum cross-section at which the ion mass is accelerated at high velocity. The presence of a magnetic field concentrates the high velocity particle mass into a small volume or well densifying the mass and slowing the particles. Electrons are injected to neutralize the space charge of the particles at each node section and to create a plasma. A tube of circulating electrons encircling the minimum cross-section purposely causes ion migration back and forth perpendicular to the force field of the magnetic well at the minimum cross-section. When the magnetic field of the well or particle trap is collapsed or released the ions exit the nodes and disperse into a lesser mass density along the accelerator path. The reduction in both kinetic energy and mass density will lower the exit temperature of the ions to insure that the fusion reaction takes place only at the node locations. Electrons and other waste products can be extracted from the accelerator by conventional techniques, retaining only ions, Duterium or Tritium. The accelerator path permits repeated recycling of the ions continuously through the numerous nodes. The magnetic field present at the nodes is used to compress the ions to raise the temperature necessary for fusion. According to another feature of the present invention, the ions exiting each of the nodes are considered as a flow of positive particles for production of direct current by magnetohydrodynamic or other conventional techniques. OBJECTS It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for generating useful energy from a plasma of ionized particles continuously recycling the ions in order to repeatedly produce plasma at a plurality of minimum cross-sections within an accelerator. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for nuclear fusion wherein a plasma mass is continuously regenerated with ions and with electrons injected into the minimum cross-sections of an accelerator. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for generating a plasma suitable for nuclear fusion or magnetohydrodynamic production by using an accelerator to recycle and accelerate ions in a return path to the plasma mass to sustain a temperature sufficient to satisfy the Lawson criterion.