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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
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Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Trump leaves space nuclear policy executive order for Biden team
A hot fire test of the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi was not completed as planned. The SLS is the vehicle meant to propel a crewed mission to the moon in 2024. Source: NASA Television
Among the executive orders President Trump issued during his last weeks in office was “Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration,” which builds on the Space Policy Directives published during his term. The order, issued on January 12, calls for actions within the next six months by NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD), together with the Department of Energy and other federal entities. Whether the Biden administration will retain some, all, or none of the specific goals of the Trump administration’s space nuclear policy remains to be seen, but one thing is very clear: If deep space exploration remains a priority, nuclear-powered and -propelled spacecraft will be needed.
The prospects for near-term deployment of nuclear propulsion and power systems in space improved during Trump’s presidency. However, Trump left office days after a hot fire test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket did not go as planned. The SLS rocket is meant to propel crewed missions to the moon in 2024 and to enable a series of long-duration lunar missions that could be powered by small lunar reactor installations. The test on January 16 of four engines that were supposed to fire for over eight minutes was automatically aborted after one minute, casting some doubt that a planned November 2021 Artemis I mission can go ahead on schedule.
Kazuaki Miyamoto, Kazunori Takahashi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 1 | May 2013 | Pages 401-403
dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A16968
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two-dimensional periodic plasma structure of a density above 1×1010 cm-3 is produced by a 400 kHz capacitively-coupled discharge, where the discharge is operated at ~10 Pascal argon. A living electrode, which is covered with a periodically hollowed insulator, is powered from a 400 kHz power supply through an impedance matching circuit. The net power is increased up to 450 W in the present experiments. The Langmuir probe diagnosis shows the formation of the spatially periodic modulation of the plasma density, where the densities at the peak and trough in the structure are 1.8×1010 cm-3 and 1×1010 cm-3 for 180 W rf power. The density ratio at the peak and trough positions in the structure is unchanged by the rf power.
