The Possibility of Producing a Dense Thermonuclear Plasma by an Intense Field Emission Discharge

It is shown that it may be possible to produce a dense thermonuclear plasma by irradiating a liquid or solid T-D target with electrons or ions from an intense field emission discharge. It may also be possible to \ifmmode \dot{g}\else \.{g}\fi{}enerate a beam of microparticles resulting from the disintegration of the field emitter anodes by this method. The energy for the discharge can be supplied by conventional capacitor banks in the megajoule range using the Marx circuit technique, or, perhaps more efficiently, by an electrostatic energy system based on charging a superconducting ring to very high voltages.