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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
Heinrich Hora, George H. Miley, Jak C. Kelly, Giovanna Salvaggi, Antonio Tate, Frederick Osman, Reynaldo Castillo
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 36 | Number 3 | November 1999 | Pages 331-336
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A114
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The proton reactions in host metals like palladium, nickel, or titanium generate elements up to a proton number Z = 82 (lead), where the generation probability follows a kind of Boltzmann distribution. This is very similar to the standard abundance distribution of the elements in the universe for heavy elements. The analogy leads to a relation to the magic numbers of the nuclear shell model, to its alternative (more general) foundation on the Bagge series contrary to the spin model of Jensen and Goeppert-Mayer, and to new large magic numbers in agreement with Greiner et al.'s results on superheavy elements.