LLNL RACE SoftXRay 1989
Executive Summary
System Metadata
Source ID
DOC-LLNL_RAC
Process Date
8/9/2026
Integrity Hash
SHA256-lzyvqro966...
Indexer Status
COMPLETE
INVESTIGATIVE ANALYSIS
Summary
This document details early experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory using the RACE device to accelerate rings of plasma to extreme speeds. By crashing these plasma rings into a target, researchers successfully generated bursts of soft X-rays, a process intended to eventually simulate the effects of nuclear weapons.
Origin
The document was authored by J. H. Hammer, C. W. Hartman, and A. W. Molvik at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Purpose
The research was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of using a compact-torus accelerator as a high-power density driver. The primary goal was to validate the conversion of plasma kinetic energy into X-ray flux for applications such as nuclear weapons effects simulation.
Why It Matters
" This document is a foundational record in the development of Compact Toroid (CT) and Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) technology, which are pivotal to both advanced fusion research and high-energy-density physics. The focus on scaling these accelerators to megajoule levels for nuclear simulation highlights the intersection of plasma physics with 'black program' interests in directed energy and nuclear survivability. It establishes a technical lineage for current efforts in compact fusion and high-velocity plasma propulsion. "
Key Claims
- › The RACE device produces plasma velocities in the range of 10^7 to 3 x 10^8 cm/s.
- › The directed kinetic energies of the plasma rings range from 4 to 40 kJ.
- › The soft X-ray output time scale is approximately 5 to 10 microseconds.
- › Large-scale accelerators (roughly 10s of MJ) are theorized to provide megajoules of X-ray flux in the 10 keV spectral region.
- › The experiments were performed under Department of Energy contract W-7405-Eng-48.
Contribution to the Field
This report provides the first experimental results for soft X-ray production using the Ring Acceleration Experiment (RACE), confirming that measured photon fluences align with theoretical plasma modeling.
External Primary Sources (8)
Verified external sources that corroborate the claims in this document.