Value chain · CLM-0082
In plain terms
The formula is the right one for the conditions space solar power would create. It was written for this case, not borrowed from a different one.
The claim as recorded
The 1978 self-focusing relation is explicitly labelled the threshold power density for underdense heating, and the underlying theory of Perkins and Valeo 1974 was developed for both the overdense and underdense branches by design, so applying it at 2.45 GHz uses the intended branch rather than stretching an overdense result.
Scope and limits
Establishes the branch, not the quantitative validity. See CLM-0083.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
SRC-108 Ionosphere/Microwave Beam Interaction Study, NASA-CR-151821, 1978
SRC-108 Ionosphere/Microwave Beam Interaction Study, NASA-CR-151821, 1978
p3-10, verified by rendering the page as an image: the relation Pth ~ 1.2e23 Te^5 fo^2 fe^-6 lambda_perp^-4 sin^2(phi) is captioned as the threshold for underdense heating. The report cites Perkins and Valeo 1974 as the source theory.
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-009 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0082
CLM-0082, Energy Aperture, as of 1978.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-108
- CLM-0043The study the 1978 reference system cites put the level where the beam may start to disturb the ionosphere at about 20 milliwatts per...CLM-0045The apparent conflict between 12 and 23 was not an error. The underlying study gave a range, and the figure adopted sits near the top of it.CLM-0066The figure adopted in 1978 was higher than each of the lower figures in the studies it cited, though those figures were themselves...CLM-0072The 1978 study gives 12 milliwatts per square centimetre for runaway, give or take a factor of two, and says no threshold can be set in the...CLM-0083The formula is the right type but nobody has said how far it can be pushed, and at space solar power frequencies the wave is about 200...CLM-0085The 1978 formula does not give a threshold. It relates threshold power to the width of the plasma structures produced, so getting a single...CLM-0101The 1978 contract required the researchers to report fixes if ionospheric disturbance pushed the pilot-beam phase error past 2 to 3...CLM-0132A 1978 NASA-funded study calculated that a beam of about 12 milliwatts per square centimetre at 2.45 GHz would be the point where the...More on the source page.