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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.
E.F. Marwick, Inventor-Consultant
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 692-696
Inertial Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29425
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Gigantic fusion-fission inertial confinement (I.C.) reactor systems can produce much power and very large quantities of nuclear materials such as T, He-3, U-233, Pu, etc. Before engineering such I.C. reactor systems, a much smaller, flexible all-fission I.C. test reactor system should be built. In this test reactor explosions of about 100 tons (420 gigajoules) are contained within a 30 meter diameter sturdy chamber and studies could be made of: containing inertial confinement explosions seriatum; using sodium slurries as the working liquid; processing slurry captured explosion debris; fabricating nuclear explosive assemblies; using Pu, Be, Li, and D for the production of T and He-3; breeding plutonium from depleted uranium; breeding uranium-233 from Th; etc.