The purpose of Project Cowboy was to investigate the seismic signals generated by chemical explosions in underground cavities, with particular emphasis on the possibility of decoupling of these signals from the surrounding media. The project site was the Carey Salt Company salt mine, located approximately five miles west of Winnfield, Louisiana. The tests were run during fiscal year 1960. This report presents the results of tests performed on specimens from the samples of salt taken in the area.

Both in magnetohydrodynamic shocks and in accelerated partially ionized gas flow across a magnetic field, space charge separation occurs that establishes very large electric fields in the direction of motion. The width of the current layers associated with the acceleration is never less than the electron Larmor radius with no collisions and is broadened by electron collisions to a width solely determined by the effective resistivity. The electrons gain an energy regardless of collisions equal to the electric potential difference across the layer. This potential corresponds to the change in kinetic energy of mass motion per ion. For slightly ionized gases, the additional stress of neutral ion collisions within the layer can make the electric potential and hence gain in electron energy very large for only modest changes in mass velocity. Hence ionization may occur when the change in kinetic energy of the ions is small compared to the ionization potential.

Project Sherwood is a nation-wide attempt to produce a controlled thermo-nuclear fusion reaction. The Astron experiment, conceived by Nicholas Christofilos, will utilize the effects of a cylindrical layer of relativistic electrons to contain and heat the plasma. A high quality, 200-ampere, 5-Me V electron beam is required to form the electron layer. The electron beam is produced by a linear induction electron accelerator. Three hundred and thirty-three toroidal cores of magnetic material surround an evacuated ceramic accelerating column. The electrons are accelerated by the transverse electric field produced by the changing flux. The magnetic cores are tape-wound toroids of .001", 50% Ni - 50% Fe. Two hundred eighty-eight cores are 24" o.d. x 8-1/2" i. d. x 1/2" thick and the remaining forty-five are 33" o. d. x 18" i. d. x 1/2" thick. Each core is required to support 16 kG for 0.4 psec. The choice of magnetic material was made by testing all available material for the required parameters. Results of these tests are presented.