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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
Startup looks to commercialize inertial fusion energy
Another startup hoping to capitalize on progress the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has made in realizing inertial fusion energy has been launched. On August 27, San Francisco–based Inertia Enterprises, a private fusion power start-up, announced the formation of the company with the goal of commercializing fusion energy.
A. Kavetsky, G. Yakubova, M. Sychov, Q. Lin, G. Walter, D. Chan, S. Yousaf, H. Socarras, J. Abrefah, K. Bower
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 159 | Number 3 | July 2008 | Pages 321-329
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE159-321
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations and measurements are presented for direct capacitor charging from tritiated electrodes, efficiency in converting beta decay energy into electric current, the effect of geometry on charging current, and the dielectric engineering options/trade-offs. Experiments using 1.4 × 1012 Bq (38 Ci) of tritium provided a 148-nA short circuit (charging) current at 5300 V of open circuit voltage, giving 160-W peak electrical power, with 12.5% overall efficiency. Calculations are in good agreement with the measured voltage accumulated over time for the tritium capacitor.
