Current implosion of quasi-spherical wire arrays

Abstract

By means of the electrostatic expansion of a cylindrical wire array by an additional electrode, quasi-spherical arrays with a radius of 8–12 mm and a mass of 200–400 μg consisting of 30–60 tungsten wires 6 μm in thickness are formed. The compression of Z pinches formed by these arrays was performed by a current of 3–4 MA with a rise time of 100 ns in the Angara-5-1 facility. It has been shown that the central part of this array forms a region hotter than its edges and that for cylindrical arrays.