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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.
D. D. Ryutov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 4 | November 2009 | Pages 1489-1494
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A9252
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper is concerned with adiabatic compression of a plasma sphere with a random small-scale magnetic field embedded in the plasma. The length of the field line between two intersections with the wall, determined from random walk scaling, is large enough to make electron heat losses along the field lines negligible. Then, such a sphere may become an interesting target for magnetized target fusion experiments. Key processes affecting the performance of such a target are identified, and constraints on the parameters of the system are formulated.