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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.
David A. Noever
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 27 | Number 1 | January 1995 | Pages 86-102
Technical Paper | Fusion Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30352
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The possibility of enhancing the ratio of output to input power Q in a simple mirror machine by polarizing deuterium-tritium (D-T) nuclei is evaluated. Taking the Livermore mirror reference design mirror ratio of 6.54, the expected sin2 ϑ angular distribution of fusion decay products reduces immediate losses of alpha particles to the loss cone by 7.6% and alpha-ion scattering losses by ∼50%. Based on these findings, alphaparticle confinement times for a polarized plasma should therefore be 1.11 times greater than for isotropic nuclei. Coupling this enhanced alpha-particle heating with the expected > 50% D-T reaction cross section, a corresponding power ratio for polarized nuclei, Qpolarized, is found to be 1.63 times greater than the classical unpolarized value Qclassical. The effects of this increase in Q are assessed for the simple mirror.