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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.
Christoph Steinert
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 17 | Number 1 | January 1990 | Pages 206-208
Cold Fusion Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29181
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The large high-energy lasers required for inertial fusion are at present beyond state of the art, and there are other problems (instability of the fuel target, suprathermal electrons, etc.) as well. Therefore, it is hoped that the energy requirement for inertial fusion can be reduced with the help of coldfusion, which takes place within the electrode material confining the fuel (avoiding instability problems). With the “semicold fusion cell,” laser energy is transferred into the “hot” part of the fuel, which is confined within the cathode in a cavity, and credit is taken from fast projectiles (tritium) stemming from the (t,p) branch of cold fusion in the “cold” metal lattice. The latter is the key to the model of a dynamic process for potential growth between the cold electrode and the hot confined fuel in the semicold fusion cell.