Chinese researchers have developed a generator that can convert hot gas at supersonic speeds into a powerful electric current. The electric current produced by this generator can supply the energy needed by military lasers, microwave weapons, railguns and other pulsed energy weapons.
According to these scientists, their magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator can produce more than 10 times the power produced in previous experiments. According to the explanations provided by the scientists, this generator has no rotating parts, which is one of its numerous advantages. They also explain about their generator:
“It has very high capacity and efficiency and does not require any energy storage components. “The generator can produce energy directly without the need for a high-power switch, and it is also very quick to start up.”
In this research, scientists convert inert gas into highly conductive plasma with the help of shock waves, and then by compressing and accelerating argon gas to Mach 14 or 14 times the speed of sound, they load it with hot and electrically charged particles.
Finally, this system was able to produce a maximum of 212 kilowatts of fast electric current pulses during its tests using only one liter of supersonic gas. This amount of power is enough for an energy blast unlike the systems that exist now.
Given that some of the largest weapons under development require a gigawatt of energy input, researchers have claimed that they can produce it with about 5,000 liters of hypersonic plasma.
However, China is not yet ready to deploy this new system; Because there are many logistical problems to find the right way to transport it and also how to control the required gas during movement. However, after the full deployment of this generator, it can be claimed that China’s supersonic weapons have achieved enormous power.
