Airix

Airix is a tool for radiography with X-rays pertaining to Direction of the Military Applications of the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique. It makes it possible the ECA to examine in the very short time of an implosion the matter movements preceding nuclear operation by a weapon. This machine is the most powerful generator of x-rays ever built, it was manufactured by the group Thomson. Airix was brought into service in December 2000 at Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers in the Marne, on the site of Moronvilliers. Airix with TERA-10 and the Laser Megajoule is a key component of the program Simulation.

General presentation

Airix is successively made up:

of a linear accelerator producing a beam of electron S of a energy of 20 MeV (million electronvolts)
of a metal target which, irradiated by the electrons, produces a beam of x-rays of high energy
of an extremely resistant enclosure in which is placed the experimental device to radiograph
equipment necessary to the recording of the images in x-rays obtained after crossing by the latter of the enclosure of experimentation.

With the the United States, there exists equipment similar called DARHT (Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamics Test) with two axes (two electron beams), which makes it possible to obtain two images of the phenomenon to observe according to perpendicular axes, thus bringing three-dimensional information that only one beam is unable to provide. The startup of the second axis of Airix is envisaged in 2010.

See too

Internal bonds

Particle accelerator Program Simulation
DARHT

External bonds

Presentation of Airix on the site of the ECA
more detailed File of the ECA
Objective, description and first results of operation
Not of situation on the simulation program (Ministry for defense), January 26th, 2006
the simulation program of the nuclear tests Article of the CDRPC (Information center and of Research on Peace and the Conflicts)

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