Spectrographic temperature measurement of a high power breakdown arc in a high pressure gas switch.

A procedure for obtaining an approximate temperature value of conducting plasma generated during self-break closure of a RIMFIRE gas switch is described. The plasma is in the form of a breakdown arc which conducts approximately 12 kJ of energy in 1 μs. A spectrographic analysis of the trigger-section of the 6-MV RIMFIRE laser triggered gas switch used in Sandia National Laboratory's "Z-Machine" has been made.

Magnetic core test stand for energy loss and permeability measurements at a high constant magnetization rate and test results for nanocrystalline and ferrite materials.

A test stand was developed to measure the energy losses and unsaturated permeability of toroidal magnetic cores, relevant to applications of magnetic switching requiring a constant magnetization rate of the order of 1-10 T/micros. These applications in pulsed power include linear induction accelerators, pulse transformers, and discharge switches. The test stand consists of a coaxial transmission line pulse charged up to 100 kV that is discharged into a magnetic core load.