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4 C
Collisions
Collisions between charged particles in a
plasma differ fundamentally from those WHAT ARE PLASMAS USED
between molecules in a neutral gas because of
the long range of the Coulomb force. In fact, it FOR?
is clear from the discussion in Sect. 1.7 that
binary collision processes can only be defined There are all sorts of uses for plasmas. To give
for weakly coupled plasmas. Note, however, one example, if we want to make a short-
that binary collisions in weakly coupled wavelength laser we need to generate a
plasmas are still modified by collective population inversion in highly excited atomic
effectsthe many-particle process of Debye states. Generally, gas lasers are pumped into
shielding enters in a crucial manner. their lasing states by driving an electric current
Nevertheless, for large we can speak of through the gas and using electron-atom
binary collisions, and therefore of a collision collisions to excite the atoms. X-ray lasers
depend on collisional excitation of more from controlled thermonuclear fusion which
energetic states of partially ionized atoms in a has been the strongest impetus driving the
plasma. Sometimes a magnetic field is used to development of the physics of hot plasmas.
hold the plasma together long enough to create
the highly ionized states.
A whole field of plasma chemistry exists THE ARC DISCHARGE
where the chemical processes that can be
accessed through highly excited atomic states
are exploited. Plasma etching and deposition We have now in our vacuum tube a population
in semiconductor technology is a very of electrons with energies up to 50eV. Let us
important related enterprise. Plasmas used for imagine introducing gas at a pressure of - 1 Pa
these purposes are sometimes called process (about of an atmosphere). The electrons
plasmas. emitted from the cathode will collide with the
Perhaps the most exciting application of gas molecules, transferring momentum and
plasmas such as the ones we will be studying energy efficiently to the bound electrons
is the production of power from thermonuclear within these gas molecules. Since typical
fusion. A deuterium ion and a tritium ion binding energies of outer-shell electrons are in
which collide with energy in the range of tens the few eV range, these collisions have a good
of keV have a significant probability of fusing probability of ionizing the gas, resulting in
and producing an alpha particle (-h helium more free electrons. The secondary electrons
nucleus) and a neutron, with 17.6MeV of created in this way are then heated by
excess energy (alpha particle 3.5 MeV, collisions with the incoming primary electrons
neutron - 14.1 MeV). A promising way to from the hot cathode and cause further
access this energy is to produce a plasma with ionizations themselves.
a density in the range 1020m-3 and average Eventually the ions and electrons come into
particle energies of tens of keV. The thermal equilibrium with each other at
characteristic time for the thermal energy temperatures corresponding to particle
contained within such a plasma to escape to energies in the range of 2eV, in the plasma
the surrounding material surfaces must exceed generated in such an arc discharge. Since
about five seconds, in order that the power most of the electrons are now thermalized-not
produced in alpha particles can sustain the monoenergetic as in the Child-Langmuir
temperature of the plasma. problem-they have a range of velocities. The
This is not a simple requirement to meet, since energy of some of the secondary electrons, as
electrons within a fusion plasma travel at well as that of the primaries, is high enough to
velocities of N lo8 m s-l, while a fusion device continue to cause ionization.
must have a characteristic size of - 2m, in order This continual ionization process balances the
to be an economic power source. We will learn loss of ions which drift out of the plasma and
how magnetic fields are used to contain a hot recombine with electrons at the cathode or on
plasma. the walls of the discharge chamber, and the
The goal of producing a plentiful and system comes into steady state. Ion and
environmentally benign energy source is still electron densities in the range of 10l8 m-3 are
decades away, but at the present writing fusion easily obtained in such a system.
power levels of 2- 10 MW have been produced Matters have changed dramatically from the
in deuterium-tritium plasmas with original Child-Langmuir problem.
temperatures of 2040 keV and energy The electron density has risen by five orders
confinement times of 0.25-1 s. This compares of magnitude, but nonetheless the space-
with power levels in the 10 mW range that charge effect impeding the flow of the electron
were produced in deuterium plasmas with current is greatly reduced. The presence of the
temperatures of - 1 keV and energy plasma, which is an excellent conductor of
confinement times of N 5ms in the early 1970s. electricity, greatly reduces the potential
It is the quest for a limitless energy source gradient in most of the inter-electrode space.
Only in the region close to the cathode are the system provides many unsolved mysteries.
neutralizing ions absent because there they are How is the Suns magnetic?
rapidly drawn into the cathode by its negative field generated, and why does it flip every
potential. eleven years? How is the solar corona?
Almost all of the potential drop occurs then heated to temperatures greater than the surface
across this narrow sheath in front of the temperature of the Sun?
cathode. What causes the magnetic storms that result in
The current-voltage characteristic of an arc a rain of energetic particles into the Earths
plasma is very different from the Child- atmosphere, and disturbances in the Earths
Langmuir relation: indeed, in a certain sense magnetic field?
its resistance is negative. Outside of the solar system there are also many
The external circuit driving the arc must plasma-related topics. What is the role of
include a resistive element as well as a voltage magnetic fields in galactic dynamics?
source. If the resistance of this element is The signals from pulsars are thought to be
reduced, allowing more current to flow synchrotron radiation from rotating, highly
through the arc, the plasma density increases magnetized neutron stars. What can we learn
due to the increased input power, the cathode from these signals about the atmospheres of
sheath narrows due to the higher plasma neutron stars and about the interstellar
density, and the voltage drop across the arc medium. All of these are very active areas of
falls! research.
Of course, even though the voltage decreases
with rising current, the input power, ZV,
increases. This nonetheless strange situation Scientific Fundamentals of
pertains up to the point where the full electron
emission from the cathode is drawn into the Plasma
arc.
The voltage drop at this point might be 10-20V
in our case, the current hundreds of amperes,
and the input power would be thousands of
watts. If the current is raised further the arc
makes the transition from space-charge-
limited to emission-limited, and the voltage
across the arc rises with rising current, since a
higher voltage is needed to pull ions into the
cathode.
Thus, as we can see, by introducing gas-and
therefore plasma-into the problem, we have
created a very different situation. From an
engineering point of view, we now have to Sept. 7, 1999: As photographed from space,
consider how to handle kilowatts of heat the Earth looks like it is floating in a black
outflow from a small volume. From a physics void. But, unseen by our eyes and most
point of view, it is interesting now to try to cameras, the Earth is actually surrounded by a
understand the behavior of the new state of complex system of interacting electric and
matter we have just created. magnetic fields, electric currents and charged
Of course, we do not always have to make a particles called the magnetosphere.
plasma in order to study one.
The Sun is a plasma; so are the Van Allen
radiation belts surrounding the Earth. Right: If a camera didn't compensate for the
The solar wind is a streaming plasma that fills bright sunlight in space, stars would be seen in
the solar system. These plasmas in our solar the background and the Earth would appear as
a bright white orb. Because distant stars aren't
as bright as the Earth, a low photo exposure Model," will be published in the Journal of
results in a black background. Geophysical Research. "Core plasma" refers
to the low-energy plasma (zero to 100 electron
volts) that makes up the plasma sphere.
The magnetosphere provides a barrier between
our planet and particles continually given off
by the Sun's corona called the "solar wind." The plasma sphere extends out to as little as 2
These particles constitute a plasma - a mixture to 3 Earth radii and, under quiet conditions on
of electrons (negatively charged) and ions the evening side, perhaps more than 6 Earth
(atoms that have lost electrons, resulting in a radii. (Because conditions in space constantly
positive electric charge). vary and regions never have exact boundaries,
plasma physicists measure the plasma sphere
Plasma is not a gas, liquid, or solid - it is the relative to the size of Earth: 4,000 miles [6,400
fourth state of matter. Plasma often behaves km] is about one Earth radius.) The extent of
like a gas, except that it conducts electricity the plasma sphere depends on space weather
and is affected by magnetic fields. On an activity. High levels of activity erode the
astronomical scale, plasma is common. The plasma sphere; long periods of quiet allow the
Sun is composed of plasma, fire is plasma, plasma sphere to expand.
fluorescent and neon lights contain plasma.
"99.9 percent of the Universe is made up of
plasma," says Dr. Dennis Gallagher, a plasma
physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center. "Very little material in space is made
of rock like the Earth."
The plasma of the magnetosphere has many
different levels of temperature and
concentration. The coldest magnetospheric
plasma is most often found in the plasma
sphere, a donut-shaped region surrounding the
Earth's middle. But plasma from the plasma
sphere can be detected throughout the
magnetosphere because it gets blown around
by electric and magnetic forces. Fusin nuclear
Aire comprimido
El aire comprimido se puede tomar de dos
fuentes diferentes:
Del compresor que lleva el
contenedor.
Aislante
De las botellas de aire comprimido
utilizadas para los equipos de respiracin Con el uso el aislante se va quemando poco a
autnoma. En ambos casos llevan acoplado un poco o se resquebraja, hasta llegar un
manorreductor para disminuir la presin momento en el que pierde su capacidad
existente en el caldern o botella hasta 6 aisladora, no siendo posible iniciar el arco
kg/cm2. La presin de salida del caldern piloto.
visual izada en el manmetro se puede graduar
con la llave. Una vez graduada sta, se deber
abrir la llave de paso de la misma. Electrodos
En el caso de usar botellas de autnomos, el El centro de este elemento es de tungsteno
manorreductor ya est regulado y no podemos cada vez que encendemos el arco piloto se
modificar la presin de salida. gasta o pierde una pequea cantidad.
La presin final de trabajo para la unidad de Cuando se ha gastado todo ese material que
corte por plasma ser de 4,5 kg/cm2.
Para regular esta presin tendr que estar
encendidos la unidad y el interruptor de test en
la posicin RUN; el aire saldr por la tobera de
la antorcha y habr un consumo real e igual
que cuando est cortando.
Regularemos la presin con la llave, para ello,
tendremos que quitar el seguro de regulacin
de presin tirando de la caperuza de plstico
hacia arriba, una vez regulada volveremos a
apretar la caperuza para que quede cerrado el
seguro.
Para alimentar de aire el equipo usaremos un
manguito neumtico con enchufe rpido en sus
extremos. ste lo conectaremos por un lado a lleva solidario el electrodo, el arco piloto no se
la entrada de aire de la unidad y por el otro a podr crear.
la salida del caldern del compresor o bien, a la En los tres casos mencionados es
salida del manorreductor de las botellas. imprescindible cambiar esos elementos por
unos nuevos. Estos ltimos los encontraremos
en una caja de repuestos que acompaa al
Consumibles equipo. En ella viene un grfico con la forma
de montaje de los mismos.
Boquillas
Cuando con el uso del equipo, el orificio que
lleva en el centro aumenta de dimetro o se
Unidades de control APLICACIN DE LA
Los paneles de control
TECNOLOGA DE CORTE POR
Son indicadores pticos (leds de control) del PLASMA
panel de mando. El corte por plasma es uno de los
Cuando estamos funcionando con la unidad, procedimientos de corte ms importantes de la
nicamente permanecern encendidos los leds industria, ya que permite un corte flexible en
1 y 2. Si se enciende cualquiera de los otros 2D y en 3D de todos los materiales
tres (3, 4, 5) no podremos cortar debido a que conductores de la electricidad. Tambin hay
el arco piloto no se generar por tanto el arco soluciones interesantes para cortar materiales
o dado de plasma desaparecer. no conductores.
Formacin de nitruros
Los depsitos de nitruros pueden permanecer
en la superficie del corte cuando hay gas
nitrgeno presente en el flujo del gas de
plasma. Estas formaciones pueden ocasionar
dificultades si la pieza debe ser soldada luego
del corte.
Con el fin de protegerse contra los rayos, Proteccin ante choques elctricos
chispas y proyecciones de metal
Este equipo utiliza tensiones elevadas en vaco
incandescente, se recomienda llevar:
para cebar el arco elctrico. Por este motivo
Guantes de cuero apropiados.
hay que prestar mucha atencin durante las
Calzado de seguridad. operaciones de mantenimiento, cambio de
Polainas. consumibles, utilizacin y manipulacin de la
Delantal de cuero. antorcha en general.
Caretas de proteccin que cubran la Deberemos intentar seguir y cumplir las
totalidad de la cara con cristales filtrantes siguientes normas:
inactnicos de grado 10. Evitar trabajar cerca de materiales
A falta de careta, gafa de proteccin inflamables.
con cristales filtrantes inactnicos, n 2 6 Cuando se desmonten las piezas con
mnimo. desgaste y de repuesto de la antorcha es
Ante una mala ventilacin usar el indispensable cortar la alimentacin elctrica
equipo autnomo si el corte es prolongado. de la mquina.
Las ropas de la persona que va a usar
el equipo deben estar secas.
No subir ni apoyarse en el material que
Proteccin ptica se va a cortar cuando se utilice este equipo.
Las fuertes radiaciones de los rayos
ultravioletas e infrarrojos son parecidas a las
No trabajar en un ambiente hmedo o
mojado si no es con las protecciones
apropiadas, con el fin de evitar choques Robert J Goldston and Paul H Rutherford;
elctricos. Introduction to Plasma Physics; Institute of
Estar sobre una base seca, y aislamos Physics Publishing Bristol and Philadelphia;
del circuito creado entre antorcha y la pieza a IOP Publishing Ltd 1995; en linea; disponible
cortar ante una humedad ambiental evidente. en la web:
http://www.astrosen.unam.mx/~aceves/ver
ano/libros/goldstone_plasma.pdf
References