Advertisement
Science
ChinaScience

Chinese scientists build hypersonic generator for power-hungry weapons of the future

  • Researchers say the technology could be used to charge military lasers, rail guns and microwave weapons that require huge amounts of electricity
  • The device sets off explosions that turn hot gas into plasma full of fast-moving ions, which are converted into an intense current

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
19
Laser weapons need large amounts of energy to destroy a target. Photo: AFP
Stephen Chenin Beijing
Scientists in Beijing say they have developed a generator that can turn hot gas moving at hypersonic speeds into an intense electric current capable of powering futuristic weapons.
The electricity produced could be used to charge military lasers, microwave weapons, rail guns and other pulsed energy weapons, according to the team led by assistant researcher Zhang Xiaoyuan with the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to the researchers, the technology could also be used for civilian purposes, such as devices for producing nuclear fusion energy or to send a burst of strong SOS signals in an emergency.

The device produced more than 10 times the power generated in previous experiments, they said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed Chinese Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics on January 19.

The generator system works by setting off explosions that turn gas into fast-moving plasma. It then converts the plasma’s energy into high-power electricity.

In one experiment, the system generated high-energy shock waves through a hydrogen-oxygen explosion. The shock waves compressed argon gas and accelerated it to Mach 14, or 14 times the speed of sound, turning the inert gas into a highly conductive plasma full of hot, electrically charged ions.

Researchers in Beijing say their generator could also be used for civilian purposes ranging from nuclear fusion energy production to sending a burst of SOS signals. Photo: Handout
Researchers in Beijing say their generator could also be used for civilian purposes ranging from nuclear fusion energy production to sending a burst of SOS signals. Photo: Handout

The plasma streamed through a component called a magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) generator, a tubelike instrument that can collect energy from the fast moving ions and convert it into electricity.

Advertisement