In the framework of a one-dimensional model for plasma flow in ablative capillary discharges, we use a consistent method for obtaining the appropriate boundary conditions, and a new method for describing the radiative energy flux from the plasma to the wall. Good agreement is reached between the calculated and the measured values for the temporal behaviour of the plasma's main parameters. The agreement is particularly satisfying for the plasma conductance (resistance), the voltage across the capillary, the total input energy, the maximum input power and the plasma pressure. This gives us confidence that the model also predicts correct values for the remaining plasma parameters that are difficult to measure accurately, such as the plasma density, the temperature and the velocity (inside the capillary as well as at its exit). The knowledge of these parameters is crucial in order to use the ablative capillary as an efficient plasma source for different applications.

A study of spatial and temporal dependences of plasma-relevant parameters has been done in the frame of a general quasi-one-dimensional model for ablative capillary discharges and for a specific time-dependence of the input energy. Particular attention was given to the effect of the so-called 'second boost of input energy' that leads to a substantial increase of some of the main plasma parameters such as exit velocity (26%), mass flux (177%) and energy flux (exit power) (285%). Calculations and experiments are in good agreement. The reliabilities of the model and numerical approach are supported by energy conservation condition fulfilment and the critical value of the exit Mach number.

The purpose of this paper is to present a system developed for detection and accurate mapping of ferro-metallic objects buried below the seabed in shallow waters. The system comprises a precise magnetic gradiometer and navigation subsystem, both installed on a non-magnetic catamaran towed by a low-magnetic interfering boat. In addition we present the results of a marine survey of a near-shore area in the vicinity of Atlit, a town situated on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, about 15 km south of Haifa. The primary purpose of the survey was to search for a Harvard airplane that crashed into the sea in 1960. A magnetic map of the survey area (3.5 km2 on a 0.5 m grid) was created revealing the anomalies at sub-meter accuracy. For each investigated target location a corresponding ferro-metallic item was dug out, one of which turned to be very similar to a part of the crashed airplane. The accuracy of location was confirmed by matching the position of the actual dug artifacts with the magnetic map within a range of ± 1 m, in a water depth of 9 m.

A detection and tracking algorithm for ferromagnetic objects based on a two stage Levenberg Marquardt Algorithm (LMA) is presented. The procedure is applied to localization and magnetic moment estimation of ferromagnetic objects moving in the vicinity of an array of two to four 3-axis magnetometers arranged as a check point configuration. The algorithms first stage provides an estimation of the target trajectory and moment that are further refined using a second iteration where only the position vector is taken as unknown. The whole procedure is fast enough to provide satisfactory results within a few seconds after the target has been detected. Tests were conducted in Soreq NRC assessing various check point scenarios and targets. The results obtained from this experiment show good localization performance and good convivial with “noisy” environment. Small targets can be localized with good accuracy using either a vertical “doorway” two to four sensors configuration or ground level two to four sensors configuration. The calculated trajectory was not affected by nearby magnetic interference such as moving vehicles or a combat soldier inspecting the gateway.

The topography of a phase plate is recovered from the phase reconstruction by solving the transport intensity equation (TIE). The TIE is solved using two different approaches: (a) the classical solution of solving the Poisson differential equation and (b) an algebraic approach with Zernike functions. In this paper we present and compare the topography reconstruction of a phase plate with these solution methods and justify why one solution is preferable over the other.