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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.
Kazuo A. Tanaka, Ryosuke Kodama, Peter A. Norreys
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 49 | Number 3 | April 2006 | Pages 342-357
Technical Paper | Fast Ignition | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1153
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper reviews the important schemes that have been investigated thus far in fast ignition research. Integral experiments for fast ignition research have been conducted utilizing various schemes: (a) double-pulse experiments with two 100-ps pulses injected to a compressed core, (b) gold cone-guided implosion with 100-TW laser pulse heating, and (c) imploded core heated by both a 100-TW and petawatt laser pulses through gold cones. Reviewing these results, several important issues were raised for further development of fast ignition research. The imploded core heated by a petawatt laser through a gold cone showed a 103 D-D neutron increase compared to the one with only the CD shell implosion.