The principle of Project MACETIE and the preliminary experiment are described. The basis of our plan is the thought that the goal of controlled thermonuclear fusion may be accessible by the multistage alternating processes of adiabatic compression and irreversible expansion of plasma. In the latter process, the plasma compressed by a strong magnetic field is expanded into a region of weaker magnetic field. A static consideration of this expansion suggests that plasma temperature will not change appreciably in this process, and a second adiabatic compression of plasma in the weak field may further increase its temperature. Preliminary experiments are being carried out to examine the foregoing principle of irreversible expansion.
Self-consistent analysis of alpha-particle heating of a fast-solenoid plasma