Inertial Electrostatic Confinement: Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Spherical Devices
INERTIAL ELECTROSTATIC CONFINEMENT: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF SPHERICAL DEVICES A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by RYAN MEYER Dr. Mark Prelas, Dissertation Supervisor Dr. Sudarshan Loyalka, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2007 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled INERTIAL ELECTROSTATIC CONFINEMENT: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF SPHERICAL DEVICES presented by Ryan Meyer, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Sudarshan Loyalka Professor Mark Prelas Professor Edbertho Leal-Quiros Professor Scott Kovaleski Professor Paul Miceli This is dedicated to my parents, Gerald and Rose, and to my siblings: Vickie, Kevin, Terry, Sheila, Tim, Jill, Darren, and Elizabeth. The support and structure they provided me was instrumental. I wish I could say my motives were pure, but I admit that sibling competitiveness is somewhat responsible for this undertaking. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to my fiancé Pimphan (Aye) Kiatsimkul. She has been loving, supportive, and motivation for completing this dissertation in a timely fashion. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Mark Prelas and Dr. Sudarshan Loyalka deserve my deepest appreciation for giving me the opportunity to focus my energy on such a fun project. In addition, the rest of the faculty and staff of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute deserve similar gratitude for providing the support necessary for me to focus my energy on my technical pursuit. I thank Tushar Ghosh, Robert Tompson, William Miller, and Dabir Viswanath.
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