High-energy radiation generated during electric explosion of a conductor in a longitudinal magnetic field

Abstract

Our recent experiments [1] with the electric explosion of conductors in vacuum with an applied strong longitudinal magnetic field showed that this process was accompanied by radiation capable of penetrating through metal layers of considerable thickness. The high intensity of this radiation allowed it to be reliably detected outside the vacuum chamber using a photographic film with an amplifying luminescent (ZnS) screen situated in a paper envelope at a distance above 3 m from the region of explosion. In the same series of experiments, it was established that elements of the setup situated in the vicinity of the explosion exhibited residual radioactivity. This radioactivity was manifested, in particular, by flare spots on a photographic film in contact with an amplifying phosphor screen contained in a paper cassette that was placed inside the solenoid gap upon the discharge. No such explosion-induced radioactivity was observed in analogous experiments performed without an applied magnetic field. This paper presents the first results of investigations of the induced radioactivity, in which the activation detector was a gold ring situated at a distance of about 0.2 m from the axis of the exploding conductor.