Thomas W. L. Sanford

Thomas W. L. "Tom" Sanford (born around 1945) is an American plasma physicist who developed a multi-wire array for use in a pulsed Z-pinch plasma system which resulted in a breakthrough for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research.[1][2] In 2005, he was awarded the Hannes Alfvén Prize with Malcolm Haines and Valentin Smirnov for his contributions to the field.[3]

Thomas W. L. Sanford
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Washington (B.S.)
Columbia University (M.A., Ph.D.)
Known forZ-pinch multi-wire array
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPlasma physics
Thesis (1973)
Doctoral advisorLeon M. Lederman

Life and career

Sanford studied mathematics and physics at the University of Washington and obtained a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in 1965. He then went on to Columbia University, where he completed his master's degree in physics in 1967 and received his doctorate from Leon M. Lederman in 1973.[4] Upon his graduation, he worked at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (with T. G. Walker), at CERN and at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (with Samuel C. C. Ting).[2] In 1982, he was a member of Sandia National Laboratories and was involved in the development of the HERMES III (High Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source) electron accelerator, which was used to generate X-rays and gamma rays to simulate the effects of nuclear explosions.[5] In 1991, he became a Distinguished Member of the laboratory.

Scientific contributions

Sanford further developed the Z-pinch with wire arrangements, which had previously been successfully tested in Russia by Valentin Smirnov, via the Saturn experiment to the Z-machine.[6][7] It was the strongest X-ray source in the mid-2000s (2 megajoules in 6 nanoseconds with 200 terawatts of power),[8] which also generated record temperatures of 2 to 3 billion Kelvin for a short time.[9] Two cylindrical shells of wire assemblies, through which a high current (20 megaamps) is sent, implode onto a central target, where high-intensity X-rays are generated for inertial fusion experiments or other studies.[10][11] This was studied with the dynamic hohlraum X-ray source.[12][13]

Honors and awards

Sanford is a fellow of the American Physical Society since 2000.[14]

References
  1. Sanford, T. W. L.; Olson, R. E.; Bowers, R. L.; Chandler, G. A.; Derzon, M. S.; Hebron, D. E.; Leeper, R. J.; Mock, R. C.; Nash, T. J.; Peterson, D. L.; Ruggles, L. E. (1999). "Z -Pinch-Generated X Rays Demonstrate Potential for Indirect-Drive ICF Experiments". Physical Review Letters. 83 (26): 5511–5514. Bibcode:1999PhRvL..83.5511S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.5511. ISSN 0031-9007.
  2. "Thomas W. L. Sanford". ieeexplore.ieee.org. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  3. Lister, Jo (2005). "Award of the 2005 Hannes Alfvén Prize of the European Physical Society to Malcolm Haines, Tom Sanford and Valentin Smirnov". Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. 47 (12B). doi:10.1088/0741-3335/47/12b/e02. ISSN 0741-3335.
  4. Sanford, T.; Childress, S.; Dugan, G.; Lederman, L. M.; Price, L. E. (1973). "Elastic Muon-Carbon Scattering in a Low-Momentum-Transfer Region". Physical Review C. 8 (3): 896–908. Bibcode:1973PhRvC...8..896S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.8.896.
  5. "Sandia National Laboratories: Saturn and HERMES III Accelerators". www.sandia.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  6. Hammer, James H.; Eddleman, James L.; Springer, Paul T.; Tabak, Max; Toor, Arthur; Wong, Keith L.; Zimmerman, George B.; Deeney, Chris; Humphreys, Russ; Nash, Thomas J.; Sanford, Thomas W. L. (1996). "Two‐dimensional radiation‐magnetohydrodynamic simulations of SATURN imploding Z pinches". Physics of Plasmas. 3 (5): 2063–2069. Bibcode:1996PhPl....3.2063H. doi:10.1063/1.872003. ISSN 1070-664X.
  7. Sanford, T. W. L.; Nash, T. J.; Mock, R. C.; Spielman, R. B.; Struve, K. W.; Hammer, J. H.; De Groot, J. S.; Whitney, K. G.; Apruzese, J. P. (1997). "Dynamics of a high-power aluminum-wire array Z-pinch implosion". Physics of Plasmas. 4 (6): 2188–2203. Bibcode:1997PhPl....4.2188S. doi:10.1063/1.872382. ISSN 1070-664X.
  8. Spielman, R. B.; Deeney, C.; Chandler, G. A.; Douglas, M. R.; Fehl, D. L.; Matzen, M. K.; McDaniel, D. H.; Nash, T. J.; Porter, J. L.; Sanford, T. W. L.; Seamen, J. F. (1998). "Tungsten wire-array Z-pinch experiments at 200 TW and 2 MJ". Physics of Plasmas. 5 (5): 2105–2111. Bibcode:1998PhPl....5.2105S. doi:10.1063/1.872881. ISSN 1070-664X.
  9. Physik, Welt der. "Hitzerekord im Labor - warum es im Plasma so heiß wird und effektiv Röntgenstrahlung abgibt". www.weltderphysik.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  10. Sanford, T. W. L.; Mock, R. C.; Spielman, R. B.; Haines, M. G.; Chittenden, J. P.; Whitney, K. G.; Apruzese, J. P.; Peterson, D. L.; Greenly, J. B.; Sinars, D. B.; Reisman, D. B. (1999). "Wire array Z-pinch insights for enhanced x-ray production". Physics of Plasmas. 6 (5): 2030–2040. Bibcode:1999PhPl....6.2030S. doi:10.1063/1.873458. ISSN 1070-664X.
  11. Sanford, T. W. L.; Mock, R. C.; Spielman, R. B.; Peterson, D. L.; Mosher, D.; Roderick, N. F. (1998). "Increased x-ray power generated from low-mass large-number aluminum-wire-array Z-pinch implosions". Physics of Plasmas. 5 (10): 3737–3754. Bibcode:1998PhPl....5.3737S. doi:10.1063/1.872984. ISSN 1070-664X.
  12. Sanford, T. W. L.; Lemke, R. W.; Mock, R. C.; Chandler, G. A.; Leeper, R. J.; Ruiz, C. L.; Peterson, D. L.; Chrien, R. E.; Idzorek, G. C.; Watt, R. G.; Chittenden, J. P. (2002). "Dynamics and characteristics of a 215-eV dynamic-hohlraum x-ray source on Z". Physics of Plasmas. 9 (8): 3573–3594. Bibcode:2002PhPl....9.3573S. doi:10.1063/1.1489676. ISSN 1070-664X.
  13. "UCSD Center for Energy Research > News & Events > Seminars > Fusion seminars". 2010-06-21. Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  14. "APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
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