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Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
H. W. Lewis
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 91 | Number 2 | October 1985 | Pages 220-222
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE85-A27443
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the performance of probabilistic risk assessments, in which there are inevitably large uncertainties, it is customary to characterize the computed probabilities in terms of their medians. When this is done, it is incorrect to add the probabilities of different accident sequences to find an overall probability of some consequence (like core melt), or to add the risks of the members of a population of reactors to find the societal risk. The error is not only one in principle, but is substantial when the uncertainties are large. In addition, the uncertainties are reduced when the probabilities are combined properly. Some examples are given.