Pulsed power 1517190 209107513 2008-04-29T22:54:21Z Sanfranman59 3415363 delete spam links '''Pulsed power''' is the term used to describe 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== Steady accumulation of energy followed by its rapid release can result in the delivery of a larger amount of instantaneous [[power (physics)|power]] over a shorter period of time (although the total energy is the same). Energy is typically stored within [[electrostatic field]]s ([[capacitor]]s), [[magnetic field]]s ([[inductor]]), as mechanical energy (using large [[flywheel]]s connected to special purpose high current [[alternator]]s), or as chemical energy (high-current lead-acid [[battery (electricity)|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 [[External electric load|load]]. For example, if one [[joule]] of energy is stored within a capacitor and then evenly released to a load over one second, the peak power delivered to the load would only be 1 watt. However, if all of the stored energy was released within one [[microsecond]], the peak power would be one [[megawatt]], a million times greater. Examples where pulsed power technology is commonly used include [[radar]], [[particle accelerator]]s, ultrastrong [[magnetic field]]s, [[fusion power|fusion]] research, [[electromagnetic pulse]]s, and high power pulsed [[laser]]s. ==History== Pulsed Power was first developed during [[World War II]] for use in [[Radar]]. A massive development program, similar in scale to the [[Manhattan Project]], was undertaken to develop 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]]. ==See also== * [[Marx generator]] * [[Explosively pumped flux compression generator]] * [[Compulsator]] * [[Electromagnetic pulse|EMP]] * [[Z machine]] * [[Particle accelerator]] * [[Pulse forming network|Pulse Forming Networks (PFN's)]] * [[Dipole magnet|"Magnet kickers"]] * [[Electromagnetic forming]] * [[Pinch (plasma physics)]] * [[Thyratron]] * [[Triggered spark gap]] * [[Ignitron]] * [[Crossatron]] * [[Linear Transformer Driver]] {{physics-stub}} [[Category:Power]] [[fr:Hautes puissances pulsées]]