Primary Intelligence Asset

LANL Spheromak Programme 1985

Declassified Public record OCR verified
INTEL

Executive Summary

This document outlines research from Los Alamos National Laboratory regarding 'spheromaks,' which are self-contained rings of plasma that use their own magnetic fields to stay organized. The researchers successfully developed methods to keep these plasma rings stable and active for longer periods, a key step toward achieving practical fusion energy.
Analysis Confidence: High
ST_CODE: 27F4C4

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DOC-LANL_SPH

Process Date

8/9/2026

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COMPLETE

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INVESTIGATIVE ANALYSIS

Summary

This document outlines research from Los Alamos National Laboratory regarding 'spheromaks,' which are self-contained rings of plasma that use their own magnetic fields to stay organized. The researchers successfully developed methods to keep these plasma rings stable and active for longer periods, a key step toward achieving practical fusion energy.

Origin

The document was authored by a team of 14 researchers, including B.L. Wright and T.R. Jarboe, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, USA. It was published as a journal article in 'Nuclear Fusion.'

Purpose

The research sought to improve the stability and duration of spheromak plasma configurations. Specifically, they were testing the 'relaxation principle' and 'helicity injection' to prevent the plasma from decaying or tilting, which are major hurdles in magnetic fusion energy.

Why It Matters

" This document is a foundational record for the CTX experiment, a precursor to modern Compact Toroid and Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) research. The technical focus on self-organizing magnetic fields and high-beta plasma stability is highly relevant to both advanced fusion energy and speculative aerospace propulsion 'black programs' often associated with the National Laboratories. Furthermore, it connects key figures like Rulon Linford and Thomas Jarboe to the early development of plasma technologies now being explored by both private entities and defense contractors. "

Key Claims

  • › Spheromaks in the CTX experiment were sustained for over 5 milliseconds.
  • › The researchers used a 0.67-meter mesh flux conserver to provide MHD stability.
  • › The efficiency of magnetic helicity transfer from the magnetized electrode to the plasma was measured at effectively 100%.
  • › The capacitor bank voltage in the CTX experiment was reduced from 45 kV to 10 kV during the transition to sustained operation.
  • › The document identifies 14 specific authors affiliated with Los Alamos National Laboratory, including B.L. Wright, R.K. Linford, and T.R. Jarboe.

Contribution to the Field

This paper provides empirical evidence that spheromaks can be sustained for over 5 milliseconds—significantly longer than their natural decay time—by using magnetized co-axial plasma sources and specifically shaped 'oblate' containers.

External Primary Sources (3)

Verified external sources that corroborate the claims in this document.

patent
US Patent 9,947,420 B2 — Magnetic field plasma confinement for compact fusion power
conference 2019
Recent Achievements in the C-2W Field-Reversed Configuration Experiment — APS DPP19
TAE Technologies
paper 2019-06-05
Formation of hot, stable, long-lived field-reversed configuration plasmas on the C-2W device — Nuclear Fusion
H. Gota et al.

Full Transcript

Transcript

Page 1 of 2

INTRODUCTION

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231148477 The Los Alamos spheromak programme Article in Nuclear Fusion · January 2011 DOI: 10.1088/0029-5515/25/9/056 CITATIONS 0 READS 67 14 authors, including: Rosalin Sherwood Canterbury Christ Church University 30 PUBLICATIONS 191 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE George J Marklin University of Washington 99 PUBLICATIONS 1,015 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Rulon Linford Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 52 PUBLICATIONS 902 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Thomas Jarboe University of Washington 357 PUBLICATIONS 3,221 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Juan Fernandez on 17 March 2016. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text. Download details: IP Address: 158.194.199.49 This content was downloaded on 13/03/2016 at 19:36 Please note that terms and conditions apply. The Los Alamos spheromak programme View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more 1985 Nucl. Fusion 25 1313 (http://iopscience.iop.org/0029-5515/25/9/056) Home Search Collections Journals About Contact us My IOPscience THE LOS ALAMOS SPHEROMAK PROGRAMME B.L. WRIGHT, A.R. SHERWOOD, A.G. SGRO, D.A. PLATTS, J. MARSHALL, G.J. MARKLIN, R.K. LINFORD, S.O. KNOX, P.L. KLINGNER, T.R. JARBOE, H.W. HOIDA, I. HENINS, J.C. FERNANDEZ, C.W. BARNES Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America

Cited In (2 references)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this document? ▾
This document outlines research from Los Alamos National Laboratory regarding 'spheromaks,' which are self-contained rings of plasma that use their own magnetic fields to stay organized. The researchers successfully developed methods to keep these plasma rings stable and active for longer periods, a...
Where does this document come from? ▾
The document was authored by a team of 14 researchers, including B.L. Wright and T.R. Jarboe, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, USA. It was published as a journal article in 'Nuclear Fusion.'
What is the research purpose of this document? ▾
The research sought to improve the stability and duration of spheromak plasma configurations. Specifically, they were testing the 'relaxation principle' and 'helicity injection' to prevent the plasma from decaying or tilting, which are major hurdles in magnetic fusion energy.
Where is this document cited in the investigation? ▾
This document is referenced in 2 places across the investigation: 1 Dossiers, 1 Research Rounds. See the "Cited In" section below for the complete list of pages that reference this document.