Pulsed power

Pulsed power is the science and technology of accumulating energy over a relatively long period of time and releasing it very quickly, thus increasing the instantaneous power.

Overview

Energy is typically stored within electrostatic fields (capacitors), magnetic fields (inductors), as mechanical energy (using large flywheels connected to special-purpose high-current alternators), or as chemical energy (high-current lead-acid batteries, or explosives). By releasing the stored energy over a very short interval (a process that is called energy compression), a huge amount of peak power can be delivered to a load. For example, if one joule of energy is stored within a capacitor and then evenly released to a load over one second, the average power delivered to the load would only be 1 watt. However, if all of the stored energy were released within one microsecond, the average power over one second would still be one watt, but the instantaneous peak power would be one megawatt, a million times greater. Pulsed power technology is used in radar, particle accelerators, ultrastrong magnetic fields, fusion research, electromagnetic pulses, and high-power pulsed lasers.

History

Pulsed Power was first developed during World War II for use in radar. Radar requires short high-power pulses. After the war, development continued in other applications, leading to the super pulsed power machines at Sandia National Laboratories.

Maximum Power Records

Single pulse energies as high as 100 MJ, power as high as a "few hundred terawatts" with voltages between 10 kV and 50 MV, and currents between 1 kA and 10 MA, have been achieved at least as of 2006.[1]

See also

Manufacturers
  • ABB Pulsed Power Manufacturer of semiconductor-based replacements for thyratrons

References
  1. "Pulsed Power Systems" Bluhm, Hansjoachim, 2006
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