Operation of Cylindrical Array of Plasma Guns

An experiment to combine many moderate-energy plasma gun discharges into one higher-energy discharge is described. Operated in a cylindrical array were 12 to 24 plasma guns with individual currents of up to 300 kA and individual discharge energies of 25 to 80 kJ. They were directed radially inward. They used separate refractory insulators. Reusable operation was achieved at up to a 1-MJ, 3-MA composite discharge level, and fast photography indicated that the separate discharges combined to form a single, symmetric, cylindrically converging discharge.