Controlled fusion reactor based on stabilized liner compression of magnetized plasma

摘要

There appears to be an optimum operating regime1, known variously as Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) or Magneto-Inertial Fusion (MIF), between the mainline programs of magnetic-confinement and inertial-confinement fusion that offers reduced size and cost for controlled fusion reactors. It depends, however, on magnetic fields at megagauss levels. These field levels require dynamic conductors, e.g., imploding shells, aka, liners. Two broad approaches follow from the communities attracted to MIF, respectively: an ICF-related side at higher energy-density interested in ignition, enabled in part by high magnetic fields, and an MCF-side, typically interested in arrangements that represent extensions of MCF to much higher fields than conventional programs. The latter harkens to back to US and Soviet programs of the 1970's1,2 and looks for efficiency, rather than ignition.