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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.
A. Nikroo, D. Woodhouse
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | March 1999 | Pages 202-205
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963923
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Plasma polymer coating of larger (1 mm or greater in diameter) Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) targets in a piezo electric based bounce pan results in surfaces which contain numerous domes of various sizes for coating thicknesses greater than about 3 μm. The density of domes increases with the size of the shells, number of shells coated at once, the strength of bouncing, and the coating thickness. The same problem is encountered when bounce coating large numbers of smaller Nova shells as well. The domes appear to grow from seeds produced by chips of the brittle plasma polymer coating itself produced in shell-to-shell collisions. A tilted spinning pan has been shown to produce smooth dome free coating while providing sufficient agitation to obtain uniform coatings.