Inertially confined fusion plasmas dominated by alpha-particle self-heating

Alpha Heating and Burning Plasmas in Inertial Confinement Fusion.

Estimating the level of alpha heating and determining the onset of the burning plasma regime is essential to finding the path towards thermonuclear ignition. In a burning plasma, the alpha heating exceeds the external input energy to the plasma. Using a simple model of the implosion, it is shown that a general relation can be derived, connecting the burning plasma regime to the yield enhancemen...

The Scientific Benefits of Inertially Confined Fusion Research

Particle Heating in Advection-dominated Accretion Flows

I review particle heating by MHD turbulence in collision-less plasmas appropriate to advection-dominated accretion flows. These considerations suggest that the preferential turbulent heating of protons assumed by theoretical models is only achieved for relatively subthermal magnetic fields.

Large-scale gyrokinetic particle simulation of microturbulence in magnetically confined fusion plasmas

As the global energy economy makes the transition from fossil fuels toward cleaner alternatives, nuclear fusion becomes an attractive potential solution for satisfying growing needs. Fusion, the power source of the stars, has been the focus of active research since the early 1950s. While progress has been impressive—especially for magnetically confined plasma devices called tokamaks—the design ...

Inertially confined plasma in an imploding bubble

Models of spherical supersonic bubble implosion in cavitating liquids predict that it could generate temperatures and densities sufficient to drive thermonuclear fusion1,2. Convincing evidence for fusion is yet to be shown, but the transient conditions generated by acoustic cavitation are certainly extreme3–5. There is, however, a remarkable lack of observable data on the conditions created dur...