US Patent 4,023,065 (Koloc PMK)
ID: koloc-patent-4023065
Summary
Original Koloc patent for compound plasma configuration (PMK). Priority date October 24, 1973. Granted May 17, 1977. Describes helical ionized path collapsing into toroidal current, pressure chamber compression.
Overview
US Patent 4,023,065, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Generating and Utilizing a Compound Plasma Configuration," was filed with a priority date of October 24, 1973, and granted on May 17, 1977, to inventor Paul M. Koloc. The patent establishes the foundational intellectual property for the Plasmak (PMK) concept, detailing a method where a helical ionized path collapses into a self-stable toroidal current ring within a pressure chamber. Koloc's design sought to achieve stable magnetohydrodynamic confinement without requiring massive external magnetic field coils, directly addressing the engineering challenges encountered in early confinement systems such as the Astron Project Inception. The configuration utilizes compression via external gas pressure to maintain high-density plasma equilibrium. This innovation followed earlier milestones in electromagnetic beam focusing, notably the strong-focusing principle conceived during the post-war era, and formed a key precursor to later compact toroid and field-reversed configuration research tracked across the Network Graph.
Significance
Within the broader advanced energy and defense research ecosystem, US Patent 4,023,065 represents a crucial link in the lineage of compact plasma confinement geometries. Koloc's PMK architecture established early conceptual groundwork for utilizing self-generated magnetic fields, a paradigm that later evolved into advanced aerospace concepts investigated by defense organizations such as Naval Air Systems Command and private fusion ventures like MSNW LLC. The patent’s publication reflects a unique period before the routine application of patent secrecy orders on novel plasma compression geometries. Technologically, the PMK concept shares structural lineages with subsequent high-energy plasma compression frameworks, including those pursued by Dr. Salvatore Pais under the Pais-SSP-Lockheed Triangle paradigm and related international defense studies such as Russian Patent RU-2227892-C1. Consequently, Patent 4,023,065 remains a benchmark early reference for compact fusion and plasmoid dynamics.
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