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Home : Our Work : Areas of Research : Plasma Physics

    Plasma Physics
Phone: (202) 767-5635

 

Overview

The Plasma Physics Division conducts broad theoretical and experimental programs of basic and applied research in plasma physics, laboratory discharge, and space plasmas, intense electron and ion beams and photon sources, atomic physics, pulsed power sources, laser physics, advanced spectral diagnostics, and nonlinear systems. 

The effort of the Division is concentrated on a few closely coordinated theoretical and experimental programs. Considerable emphasis is placed on large-scale numerical simulations related to plasma dynamics; ionospheric, magnetospheric, and atmospheric dynamics; nuclear weapons effects; inertial confinement fusion; atomic physics; plasma processing; nonlinear dynamics and chaos; free electron lasers and other advanced radiation sources; advanced accelerator concepts; and atmospheric laser propagation.

Core Capabilities 

  • Radiation Hydrodynamics - The principal emphasis is in the development and application of theoretical models and state-of-the-art numerical simulations combining magnetohydrodynamics, high energy density physics, atomic and radiation physics, and spectroscopy.
  • Laser Plasma - Primary areas of research include physics underpinnings of laser fusion, high-energy-gain laser-inertial- fusion target designs, experiments and simulations of laser-matter interactions at high intensity, advancing the science and technologies of high-energy krypton fluoride and argon fluoride lasers, advancing the technologies of durable high-repetition-rate pulse power and electron-beam diodes for laser pumping and other applications, laser fusion as a power source.
  • Space and Laboratory Plasmas - Space research includes theoretical, numerical, and laboratory and space experimental investigations of the dynamic behavior of the near-Earth space plasmas and radiation belts, and the modification of space plasmas for strategic effects on HF communications, satellite navigation, over-the-horizon radar, and UHF satellite communications.  Applications-oriented plasma research is performed in the production, characterization, and use of low-temperature plasmas and related technology for applications to advance capabilities across the Navy and DOD.  Pulsed-power investigations include electromagnetic launch science and technology and research on directed energy systems for the U.S. Navy.
  • Pulsed Power Physics - Experimental and theoretical research is performed to advance pulsed power driven accelerator technology in areas relevant to defense applications. Research concerns the production, transport, characterization, and modeling of pulsed plasmas and intense high-power, charged particle beams using terawatt-class hundred-kilojoule pulsed power systems that employ capacitive or inductive energy storage and advanced switching. 
  • Directed Energy Physics - Research encompasses the integration of theoretical/computational and experimental research relevant to DOD, ONR, DARPA, and DoE in the areas of ultra-high field laser physics, atmospheric propagation of intense lasers, advanced radiation and accelerator physics, laser-generated plasma-microwave interactions, and dynamics of nonlinear systems. 

Facilities Fact Sheets

  • Electra Experimental Lab Facility - Electron beam pumped laser.  [ Download PDF]
  • NIKE KrF Laser Target Facility.  [Download PDF]
  • Space Plasma Simulation Chamber.  [Download PDF]

Plasma Physics News

NEWS | May 29, 2014

Roger Easton, Father of GPS, Dies at 93

By Daniel Parry, Corporate Communications, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Roger Lee Easton, Sr., visionary, inventor, and pioneer of modern day navigation passed away Thursday, May 8, 2014 at his Wheelock Terrace residence located in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Born April 30, 1921, in North Craftsbury, Vt., to Frank Birch Easton, Sr. and Della (Donnocker) Easton, he was raised in Craftsbury Common and graduated from the Craftsbury Academy in 1939. He was a member of the class of 1943 at Middlebury College. After graduation he attended the University of Michigan for one semester where he met his wife Barbara.

In 1943 Easton began work as a physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, where he spent his entire 37-year career. During 1944 and 1945 he served in the U.S. Navy while working at the laboratory on radar beacons and blind landing systems. In the early 1950s he was involved in early rocket experiments carried out at the White Sands Proving Grounds in N.M.

In 1955 he assisted in writing the proposal for the Vanguard Project, a scientific satellite program for the International Geophysical Year (IGY), and served on the design team for that satellite. From there he went on to design Minitrack, a system for following varying types of Earth-orbiting objects.

A problem with synchronizing the timing of the tracking stations led Easton to the idea of putting highly accurate clocks in multiple satellites which could also be used to determine the precise location of someone on the ground. He called this system Timation for Time-Navigation. Following the origin and development of the NRL time-based navigation system, select features were adopted by the Department of Defense (DoD) in the early 1970s and the system renamed the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

Easton held 11 U.S. patents including patent 3,789,409 for Navigation Systems Using Satellites and Passive Ranging Techniques for Timation. He received many awards for his inventions and in 1978 was awarded the Thomas L. Thurlow navigation award for Timation. In 1993 he was recognized as a member of the GPS team which received the Robert J. Collier Trophy aviation award.

In 1997 Easton shared the Magellanic Premium given by the American Philosophical Society and was inducted into that organization in 1998. He was also awarded the National Medal of Technology for 2004 and inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2010. In June 2013 he was awarded the Infomatics Badge of Honor by the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait.

In 1980 Easton retired as Head of the Space Applications Branch at the Naval Research Laboratory and he and Barbara moved to Canaan, N.H., where he continued efforts to improve GPS and to work on energy issues - a proponent of solar energy, Easton had installed solar cells on his garage roof. He served two terms in the New Hampshire Legislature and ran for Governor in the primary election of 1986 to offer a moderate alternative in the Republican Party and in opposition to the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. As he did throughout his life, he maintained his sense of humor in this campaign, telling his family that The only thing worse than losing would be winning.

Easton is survived by his wife of 68 years, Barbara Coulter Easton, daughter Ruth Easton, two sons Roger Easton, Jr. and Richard Easton and daughter-in-law Kathleen Easton of Winnetka, sister Penelope Easton of Durham, NC, five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by daughters Ann Davis and Joan Dunleavy, half-brother Daniel and brothers Frank, Jr., Charles, and Nelson.

The NRL Public Affairs Office thanks Richard D. Easton, son of Roger Easton and author of 'GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones' for contributions to this article. Additional information concerning Roger Easton, GPS, and the NRL space program may be found using the NRL search feature found at www.nrl.navy.mil/search.


About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil.