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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. R. Gibson, D. P. Atkinson, J. A. Baltz, V. P. Brugman, F. E. Coffield, O. D. Edwards, B. J. Haid, S. F. Locke, T. N. Malsbury, S. J. Shiromizu, K. M. Skulina
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 3 | April 2009 | Pages 233-236
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-3453
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The U.S. Department of Energy has embarked on a campaign to conduct credible fusion ignition experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2010. The target assembly specified for this campaign requires the formation of a deuterium-tritium fuel ice layer in a 2-mm-diam capsule at the center of a 9-mm-long × 5-mm-diam cylinder, called a hohlraum. The ice layer must be formed and maintained at temperatures below 20 K. At laser shot time, the target is positioned at the center of the NIF target chamber, aligned to the laser beams, and held stable to <7-m root-mean-square. We have completed the final design of the cryogenic target system and are currently integrating the devices necessary to create, characterize, and position the cryogenic target for ignition experiments.