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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

A Random-displacement Measurement by Combining a Magnetic Scale and Two Fiber Bragg Gratings
Published on: September 30, 2019
Compact collimated fiber optic array diagnostic for railgun plasmas
V Tang1, J M Solberg, T J Ferriera
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P. O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
Abstract:
We developed and tested a compact collimated 16 channel fiber optic array diagnostic for studying the light emission of railgun armature plasmas with approximately millimeter spatial and submicrosecond temporal resolution. The design and operational details of the diagnostic are described. Plasma velocities, oscillation, and dimension data from the diagnostic for the Livermore fixed hybrid armature experiment are presented and compared with one-dimensional simulations. The techniques and principles discussed allow the extension of the diagnostic to other railgun and related dense plasma experiments.

