Non-fusion plasma research: One perspective

Summary form only given: This joint ICOPS/SOFE conference offers a unique opportunity to foster deeper dialogue between the dominant "fusion branch" of the plasma research community and its non-fusion counterparts. Since the 1960s the world of Plasma Physics has been divided between "fusion research" and "everything else." In fact, after one subtracted the huge "space plasma" community from the latter group, what was left was an array of mini-fields whose total population has always been dwarfed by the fusion and space groups individually. This smaller but feisty third group forms the backbone of the IEEE ICOPS community and has been the focus of the Air Force Electro-Energetic Physics basic research program for the past 25 years. It is a group strong on enthusiasm, big on real-world spin-offs, and populated primarily by dedicated university research teams whose funding needs tend to be relatively modest (i.e.- significant bang-for-the-buck). This talk will provide a gourmet sampling (but by no means all) of the fascinating research topics studied by the third group, describing past breakthroughs and future opportunities. Special attention will be given to bio-effects (both pulsed power and plasma), high power microwave (HPM) sources, vacuum electronics, air plasma physics, compact pulsed power, and computational plasma physics.