| abstract |
A thin foil stripper and simple non-obstructing power meter for a space based neutral particle beam system consisting of a panel of thin foils supported by resistance wires and mounted on a wheel or disk in such a manner that the surface used for stripping the beam may be changed or replaced periodically. The power meter consists of four resistors arranged in the form of a bridge, a power source (battery), a detector (voltmeter), and a display unit (recorded, etc.). Two of the resistors consist of the wires which support the foils and are nearly identical. The other two resistors are used to balance the bridge. When one of the strippers is exposed to the neutral particle beam, the support wire is heated, the resistance changes, and the bridge becomes unbalanced. The magnitude of the voltage produced is proportional to the power in the beam. The power meter is non-obstructing. |