High-explosive generators of dense low-temperature plasma for proton radiography

The article reviews the design and physical applications of high-explosive generators for dense low-temperature plasma. The PUMA proton microscope with magnetic optics at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics by A.I. Alikhanov of National Research Centre << Kurchatov Institute >> (Moscow, Russia) was used to diagnose the plasma. The generators were developed for measurements of the equation of state of non-ideal plasma, investigation of phase transitions in hydrogen or molecular gases, and studies of the properties of the interior of Giant planets. A proposal was made to repeat the experiments with explosive generators using the proton microscope PRIOR (Proton Microscope for Facility for Anti-proton and Ion Research) at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung (Darmstadt, Germany) and at the designed proton microscope at the Institute for Nuclear Research (Troitsk, Russia).