Thomas W. L. "Tom" Sanford (born around 1945) is an American plasma physicist who developed a multi-wire array for use in a pulsed Z-pinch plasma system which resulted in a breakthrough for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research. In 2005, he was awarded the Hannes Alfvén Prize with Malcolm Haines and Valentin Smirnov for his contributions to the field.

Life and career

Sanford studied mathematics and physics at the University of Washington and obtained a bachelor's degree

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1965. He then went on to Columbia University, where he completed his master's degree in physics in 1967 and received his doctorate from Leon M. Lederman in 1973. Upon his graduation, he worked at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (with T. G. Walker), at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...

and at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (with

Samuel C. C. Ting Samuel Chao Chung Ting (, born January 27, 1936) is a Chinese-American physicist who, with Burton Richter, received the Nobel Prize in 1976 for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle. More recently he has been the principal investigator in res ...

). In 1982, he was a member of Sandia National Laboratories and was involved in the development of the HERMES III (High Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source) electron accelerator, which was used to generate X-rays and gamma rays to simulate the effects of nuclear explosions. In 1991, he became a Distinguished Member of the laboratory.

Scientific contributions

Sanford further developed the Z-pinch with wire arrangements, which had previously been successfully tested in Russia by Valentin Smirnov, via the Saturn experiment to the Z-machine. It was the strongest X-ray source in the mid-2000s (2

megajoules The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied. ...

in 6 nanoseconds with 200 terawatts of power), which also generated record temperatures of 2 to 3 billion Kelvin for a short time. Two cylindrical shells of wire assemblies, through which a high current (20 megaamps) is sent, implode onto a central target, where high-intensity X-rays are generated for inertial fusion experiments or other studies. This was studied with the dynamic hohlraum X-ray source.

Honors and awards

Sanford is a fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

since 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Thomas W. L. Living people 1945 births American plasma physicists University of Washington alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni People associated with CERN Fellows of the American Physical Society