Thomas W. L. "Tom" Sanford (born around 1945) is an American plasmaphysicist who developed a multi-wire array for use in a pulsedZ-pinch plasma system which resulted in a breakthrough forinertial confinement fusion (ICF) research.[1][2] In 2005, he was awarded theHannes Alfvén Prize with Malcolm Haines andValentin Smirnov for his contributions to the field.[3]
Sanford further developed theZ-pinch with wire arrangements, which had previously been successfully tested in Russia byValentin Smirnov, via the Saturn experiment to theZ-machine.[6][7] It was the strongest X-ray source in the mid-2000s (2megajoules in 6nanoseconds with 200terawatts 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]
^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.ISSN0031-9007.
^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.ISSN0741-3335.S2CID250850964.
^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.
^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.ISSN1070-664X.
^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.ISSN1070-664X.
^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.ISSN1070-664X.
^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.ISSN1070-664X.
^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.ISSN1070-664X.
