Summary
This chapter is an overview of the current state of the art of fusion technology. Because of the imperative of dealing with climate change, most fusioneers are focusing on earth-bound technologies that can produce useful electric power without adding to our planet’s atmospheric greenhouse gases. Still, the book would be incomplete—and less exciting—without discussing other applications of fusion, including the out-of-this-world potential for space propulsion systems. This chapter is an overview of those applications showing the connections and interrelationships between various families of fusion technologies. Later chapters will look at each of those families in detail.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Oil, coal, uranium and fusion estimates from: Ongena, J., and G. Van Oost. “Energy For Future Centuries Will Fusion Be An Inexhaustible, Safe And Clean Energy Source?” Fusion Science and Technology 45.2T (2004): 3–14. Http://www.ans.org/store/j_464. Web. Mar. 2004.
Fusion numbers also came from: Lee, Sing, and Sor Heoh Saw. “Nuclear Fusion Energy—Mankind’s Giant Step Forward.” Journal of Fusion Energy 30.5 (2011): 398-403. Print.
Solar predictions were from a real plant in India: Jai, Shreya. “India to Build World’s Largest Solar Power Plant in Rajasthan.” Http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/. The Economic Times of India, 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Cow calculations were based on: Otaraku, Ipeghan J., and Evelyn V. Ogedengbe. “Biogas Production from Sawdust Waste, Cow Dung and Water Hyacinth-Effect of Sawdust Concentration.” International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM) 2013th ser. 2.6 (2013): 91–93. Web. June 2013.
Napier grass were from a real project in Thailand: Vivanpatarakij, Supawat, Weerin Wangjiraniran, Raksanai Nidhiritdhikrai, and Dawan Wiwattanadat. “Potential Study of Electricity Generation 1000 MW with Biogas in Thailand.” Advanced Materials Research 622-623 (2012): 1209–212. Print.
Wind calculations were based on a California wind farm: “GE Acquires California Wind Farm, UK Energy Management Firm.” Sustainable Business. Sustainable Business, 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
The Polywell Blog “Oh, The Possibilities” December 10, 2011 Dr. Matthew J Moynihan
Lawson, J. D. (December 1957). “Some Criteria for a Power producing thermonuclear reactor”. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Berkshire, UK.
“Physics of high performance JET plasmas in DT” ML Watkins, 1999 Nucl. Fusion 39 1227
Miley, George H., and S. Krupakar Murali. Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion. New York: Springer, 2014.
“Test results on plasma direct converters” William L. Barr and Ralph W Moir, Nuclear Technology Vol 3, January 1983.
Miley, George H., Harry Towner, and Nenad Ivich. Fusion cross sections and reactivities. No. COO 2218-17. Illinois Univ., Urbana (USA), 1974.
Lindemuth, Irvin R., and Richard E. Siemon. “The fundamental parameter space of controlled thermonuclear fusion.” American Journal of Physics 77.5 (2009): 407–416.
Paluszek, Mr Michael, et al. “Princeton Field Reversed Configuration Reactor for Spacecraft Propulsion Revision.”
John Lindl, Development of the Indirect-Drive Approach to Inertial Confinement Fusion and the Target Physics Basis for Ignition and Gain, Physics of Plasmas Vol. 2, No. 11, November 1995.
“World water dynamics: global modeling of water resources” Slobodan P. Simonovic Civil and Environmental Engineering, UWO, London, Ontario, Canada Received 29 May 2001; accepted 26 April 2002
Eliezer, Shalom, et al. "Avalanche proton-boron fusion based on elastic nuclear collisions." Physics of Plasmas 23.5 (2016): 050704.
Schmoldt E. Phoenix and SHINE Complete Unprecedented Neutron Production Run. SHINE Technologies. Published March 22, 2016. Accessed February 24, 2023. https://www.shinefusion.com/neutron-generators/phoenix-nuclear-and-shine-complete-unprecedented-neutron-production-run/
Ono Y., Tanabe H., Yamada K., et al., “High power heating of magnetic reconnection in merging tokamak experiments”, Phys. Plasmas, 22, 055708 (2015), Section D and Figs. 9 and 14.
Yamada, M., L.-J. Chen, J. Yoo, S. Wang, W. Fox, J. Jara-Almonte, H. Ji, et al. “The Two-Fluid Dynamics and Energetics of the Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection in Laboratory and Space Plasmas.” Nature Communications 9, no. 1 (December 6, 2018): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07680-2.
“The threshold of ignition on the NIF and laying the path towards Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE)” Tammy Ma, LLNL-PRES-XXXXXX, Presentation at the 2021 Fusion Power Associates meeting, December 15, 2021.
Gibney E. Nuclear-fusion reactor smashes energy record. Nature. 2022;602(7897):371–371. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00391-1.
Baltz, E. A., et al. “Achievement of sustained net plasma heating in a fusion experiment with the optometrist algorithm.” Scientific reports 7.1 (2017): 1–7.
Ted Baltz "So there I was, firing a megawatt plasma collider at work..." Googleblog.com. Published July 25, 2017. Accessed February 24, 2023. https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/07/so-there-i-was-firing-megawatt-plasma.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Moynihan, M., Bortz, A.B. (2023). Fusion Technology. In: Fusion's Promise. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22906-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22906-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-22905-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-22906-0
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)