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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
E. G. Vovkivsky, A. Yu. Chirkov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 81 | Number 8 | November 2025 | Pages 848-857
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2025.2454130
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To analyze the energy balance, the range of optimal parameters of the quasistationary burn phase of p-11B plasma is assessed under conditions of fuel refill and external energy supply. The reaction rate parameter is determined considering the difference in the macroscopic velocities of the fuel components. An increase in the corresponding relative energy from 0 to 100 keV leads to an increase in the plasma power gain Q by a factor of 3. Regimes with Q ≈ 5 correspond to npτ ~ 1021 m–3s, where np is the proton density and τ is the confinement time. These conditions are close to optimum from the point of view of the fuel burnout rate, energy transfer to plasma from the generated high-energy alpha particles, and bremsstrahlung losses associated with their accumulation in the plasma. Also, to assess the influence of the content of alpha particles, a mode with a reduced confinement time of alpha particles is considered. In such a mode Q > 5 can be achieved.