Session
2024 Poster Session
Location
Salt Lake Community College Westpointe Campus, Salt Lake City, UT
Start Date
5-6-2024 9:55 AM
Description
Our goal at UVU, is to learn plasma physics and experimental techniques while exploring the physics of the Variable and Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, or VASIMR for short. Invented by physicist and astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, the VASIMR engine is “electrodeless”. It first develops a plasma using a helicon RF antenna, and by guiding the plasma along a magnetic field, sends it through an Ion Cyclotron Heating (ICH) antenna. This pumps the magnetic moments of the ions, greatly increasing their energy. Subsequent flow through a magnetic nozzle develops exhaust velocities of order 50 km/s with thrust of several newtons. We have a small RF-excited plasma system and have built and are currently debugging a Langmuir Probe. Discharge are probe can be seen in the figure inset.
Building a Langmuir Probe
Salt Lake Community College Westpointe Campus, Salt Lake City, UT
Our goal at UVU, is to learn plasma physics and experimental techniques while exploring the physics of the Variable and Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, or VASIMR for short. Invented by physicist and astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, the VASIMR engine is “electrodeless”. It first develops a plasma using a helicon RF antenna, and by guiding the plasma along a magnetic field, sends it through an Ion Cyclotron Heating (ICH) antenna. This pumps the magnetic moments of the ions, greatly increasing their energy. Subsequent flow through a magnetic nozzle develops exhaust velocities of order 50 km/s with thrust of several newtons. We have a small RF-excited plasma system and have built and are currently debugging a Langmuir Probe. Discharge are probe can be seen in the figure inset.