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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.
S. W. Haan, J. D. Salmonson, D. S. Clark, D. D. Ho, B. A. Hammel, D. A. Callahan, C. J. Cerjan, M. J. Edwards, S. P. Hatchett, O. L. Landen, J. D. Lindl, B. J. Macgowan, M. M. Marinak, D. H. Munro, H. F. Robey, B. K. Spears, L. J. Suter, R. P. Town, S. V. Weber, D. C. Wilson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 59 | Number 1 | January 2011 | Pages 1-7
Technical Paper | Nineteenth Target Fabrication Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-3723
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Targets intended to produce ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are being simulated, and the simulations are used to set specifications for target fabrication. Recent design work has focused on incorporating the implications of NIF experiments that were done in fall 2009 and planning for the campaign in 2010. Near-term experiments will use Ge-doped CH, although Be and diamond are still under active consideration for 2011 and beyond. The emphasis in this paper will be on changes in the requirements over the last year, the characteristics of the 2010 CH-ablator design, and the designs for 2011 and beyond. Capsule defects of particular interest are surface perturbations on the CH ablator and composition variations in the Be shells. Complete tables of specifications are regularly updated for all of the targets. All the specifications are rolled together into an error budget indicating adequate margin for ignition with all of the designs.