NRL’s Mercury Pulsed Power Facility Marks Two Decades of Innovation (IMAGE)

Naval Research Laboratory

NRL’s Mercury Pulsed Power Facility Marks Two Decades of Innovation

Caption

Pictured is all that remains of a 1-mm tapered tungsten rod held by a graphite holder after being bombarded by 5 kilojoules of 2.5 million volt electrons in only 50 nanoseconds. The rapid deposition of energy is cylindrically-symmetric and vaporizes most of the 5-cm long rod, leaving behind a single, tiny tungsten “flower.” This debris was made during our studies of high-brightness radiographic diodes. The NRL-patented rod-pinch diode provides one of the world’s brightest hard x-ray sources and is used to characterize material properties under dynamic loads, supporting the Nation’s nuclear stockpile. Experiments were supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Agency under Interagency Agreement DE-NA-0001417. (U.S. Navy photo)

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U.S. Navy Photo

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