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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.
C. Yamanaka
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 20 | Number 4 | December 1991 | Pages 767-773
Inertial Confinement Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A11946934
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recent inertial fusion experiments on the direct drive targets have attained the high neutron yield 1013 and the high density compression 600 times liquid density respectively. The electron degeneracy of core plasma was also observed. For the indirect drive target experiments, the radiation confinement was measured to keep the illumination uniformity. The ablation pressure of 100M bar is generated by soft X-ray radiation of 3 × 1014 W/cm2 over 1 nsec which produces the implosion velocity of 3 × 107 cm/sec. The development of the reactor driver of a few M joule is the most important issue for the inertial fusion energy program.