On November, 14-16 this year our university held the X conference on plasma diagnostics. 65 reports from leading research centres and universities of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, France were represented there.

Organised by MEPhI and the RAS section of low-temperature plasma diagnostics 20 years ago, the conference had an aim to fulfill the deficit of forums that time, where young researchers, students, and post-graduate students, involved in this difficult part of experimental research, could discuss results and get the evaluation from specialists.

The program committee of the conference consisted of acknowledged scientists from leading research centres: VNIIEF nuclear centre, NRCKI, TRINITY, JIHT RAS, and universities MEPhI, Bauman MSTU, SPbSTU. 3 members of the conference program committee (S.Garanin, V.Petrov, E.Son) were elected acting members at the academy last elections.

At the conference for the first time not only new methods of research, but also interesting physical phenomena, which could be observed with its help, were represented to the scientific society.

E.Timofeev’s report showed that condensed phase, produced after the droplet erosion of meteors influences the properties of near-Earth plasma. S.Polukhin’s report was focused on a new phenomenon in plasma focus, i.e. the production of a fast plasma “bullet”.

The work of A.Isaev and K.Kozlovskiy (MEPhI) demonstrated acceleration of a plasma bunch up to the energy higher than 100 KeV by growing magnetic field. Interesting possibilities of high-speed process record were represented by Sarov scientists L.Dushina and D.Dobrotsvetov. A hybrid laser system, consisting of gas lasers and non-linear crystals, was suggested by Lebedev Institute scientists. Young colleagues from Kazakhstan showed means of plasma diagnostics in abuilding Kazakhstan tokamak KTM.

In invited distant reports V.Paperniy (Irkutsk State University) showed new possibilities of diagnostics of magnetron and vacuum-spark discharges, and D.Batani (Bordo University) told about diagnostics of thermonuclear target lighting by shock waves.

The conference could boast a large stand section, which gathered about 30 reports, mainly young researchers and post-graduate students, in different directions of diagnostics of high-temperature and technological plasma. The best reports will be published in “Nuclear physics and engineering” journal.