Exploding wires are a powerful means to get high temperatures. However,
as pointed out by LOCHTE-HOLTGREVEN high temperatures are to be
expected only during extremely short time (in the nanosecond range), because
after a few microseconds the adiabatic expansion cools the plasma. Nevertheless,
according the author, the use of liquid threads (heavy liquid ammonia + Li)
for nuclear fusion looks possible if fast and high power discharges are used.
Another suggestion is the use of a composite wire with ah U235 core and an
outer shell Li6D, Li6T [2]. Here again a considerable energy is needed. This
device actually acts as a small heterogeneous reactor and would work under
fusion-fission conditions. Incidentally, the use of composite U235-D-T
homogeneous pellets to produce fusion-fission reactions has been considered
by POZWOLSKI [3], but here the heating process is the impact of pellets acceler-
ated to ultra high velocities (e.g. 100 km/s). In principle such velocities could
be reached through electrostatic acceleration; another means, probably easier,
is to use exploding wire in an appropriate geometry, to be discussed in what
follows.
[Bright hint for Larry [and NASA]]