Systems and methods utilizing successive, axially symmetric acceleration and adiabatic compression stages to heat and accelerate two compact tori towards each other and ultimately collide and compress the compact tori within a central chamber. Alternatively, systems and methods utilizing successive, axially asymmetric acceleration and adiabatic compression stages to heat and accelerate a first compact toroid towards and position within a central chamber and to heat and accelerate a second compact toroid towards the central chamber and ultimately collide and merge the first and second compact toroids and compress the compact merge tori within the central chamber.

Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

A magnetic confinement system includes a magnetic mirror device that includes a chamber to hold a target plasma and a coil arrangement to generate a magnetic field configuration in the chamber to confine the target plasma in cylindrically-symmetric form in the chamber, the magnetic field configuration having open ends. The magnetic confinement system further includes plasma guns to generate plasma pistons and project the plasma pistons at the open ends of the magnetic field configuration. In operation, the plasma pistons converge towards each other to close the open ends of the magnetic field configuration and to compress and heat the target plasma.

A magnetic confinement system includes a magnetic mirror device that includes a chamber to hold a target plasma and a coil arrangement to generate a magnetic field configuration in the chamber to confine the target plasma in cylindrically-symmetric form in the chamber, the magnetic field configuration having open ends. The magnetic confinement system further includes plasma guns to generate plasma pistons and project the plasma pistons at the open ends of the magnetic field configuration. In operation, the plasma pistons converge towards each other to close the open ends of the magnetic field configuration and to compress and heat the target plasma.

A method and system for stably generating and accelerating magnetized plasma comprises ionizing an injected gas in plasma generator and generating a formation magnetic field to form a magnetized plasma with a closed poloidal field, generating a reverse poloidal field behind the magnetized plasma and having a same field direction as a back edge of the closed poloidal field and having an opposite field direction of the formation magnetic field, and generating a pushing toroidal field that pushes the reverse poloidal field against the closed poloidal field, thereby accelerating the magnetized plasma through a plasma accelerator downstream from the plasma generator. The reverse poloidal field serves to prevent the reconnection of the formation magnetic field and closed poloidal field after the magnetized plasma is formed, which would allow the pushing toroidal field to mix with the closed poloidal field and cause instability and reduced plasma confinement.

A magnetized plasmoid injection device including a cylindrical external electrode, a cylindrical internal electrode coaxially disposed inside the external electrode, a plasma generating gas supply unit that supplies plasma generating gas in a pulse shape between the external electrode and the internal electrode, a magnetic field generation unit that applies a magnetic field that generates magnetized plasmoid between the external electrode and the internal electrode, a power supply control unit that applies a discharge voltage between the external electrode and the internal electrode, and an impurity generation unit that contains an impurity in the magnetized plasmoid, the impurity generation unit having a cover electrode that opens to the external electrode, a thin-rod electrode that is located inside the cover electrode and is formed of an impurity, and an impurity generation power supply that applies a voltage to the cover electrode and the thin-rod electrode.

An example plasma confinement system includes an inner electrode having a rounded first end that is disposed on a longitudinal axis of the plasma confinement system and an outer electrode that at least partially surrounds the inner electrode. The outer electrode includes a solid conductive shell and an electrically conductive material disposed on the solid conductive shell and on the longitudinal axis of the plasma confinement system. The electrically conductive material has a melting point within a range of 170° C. to 800° C. at 1 atmosphere of pressure. Related plasma confinement systems and methods are also disclosed herein.

An example plasma confinement system includes an inner electrode having a rounded first end that is disposed on a longitudinal axis of the plasma confinement system and an outer electrode that at least partially surrounds the inner electrode. The outer electrode includes a solid conductive shell and an electrically conductive material disposed on the solid conductive shell and on the longitudinal axis of the plasma confinement system. The electrically conductive material has a melting point within a range of 170° C. to 800° C. at 1 atmosphere of pressure. Related plasma confinement systems and methods are also disclosed herein.

Systems and methods are provided that facilitate stability of an FRC plasma in both radial and axial directions and axial position control of an FRC plasma along the symmetry axis of an FRC plasma chamber. The systems and methods exploit an axially unstable equilibria of the FRC plasma to enforce radial stability, while stabilizing or controlling the axial instability. The systems and methods provide feedback control of the FRC plasma axial position independent of the stability properties of the plasma equilibrium by acting on the voltages applied to a set of external coils concentric with the plasma and using a non-linear control technique.