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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.
J. Nadler, T. Hochberg, Y. Gu, O. Barnouin, G. Miley
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 20 | Number 4 | December 1991 | Pages 850-857
Electrostatic Confined Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A11946948
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) is an alternative approach to fusion power that potentially offers the ability to burn advanced fuels like D-He3 in a non-Maxwellian, high density core. These aneutronic reactions are ideal for direct energy conversion; since the products energetic ions, they also offer high specific impulse for space propulsion.
The results presented here are the first potential well measurements of an IEC-type device via a collimated proton detector. They indicate that a ~15-kV virtual anode, at least one centimeter in radius, has formed in a spherical device with a cathode potential of 30 kV, and a current of 12 mA. Numerical analysis indicates D+ densities on the order of 109 cm-3, and D+2 densities on the order of 1010 cm-3.
Virtual well formation is very important to IEC devices because they are, in effect, 100% transparent electrodes that can create an electrostatic well to confine energetic ions. A brief description of the theory of IEC is given, followed by a greater description of the results.
