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Controlled Nuclear Fusion Current Research and Potential Progress (1978) / Chapter Skim
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Pages 1-4

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 1...
... For practical purposes, it will be necessary for a fusion reactor to achieve conditions where the appropriate fuel is raised to these elevated temperatures and held there long enough so that a significant fraction of the fuel can undergo fusion reactions. The amount of energy recovered in the process will have to exceed the amount of energy invested, and exceed it by some measure, in order for the fusion reactor to be of practical interest.
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From page 2...
... Nevertheless, the l0 million tonnes figure corresponds to about 5 billion MWe years of electrical energy, which could support a global population of l0 billion people for 500 years at a per capita electrical power demand of l kilowatt. Early design studies on fusion reactors revealed that the reactor's lithium inventory would be difficult to recycle due to the buildup of excessive chemical and radioactive contaminants.
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From page 3...
... Advanced fuel cycles, by relying on deuterium, 3He2, or such higher atomic weight elements as lithium, beryllium, or boron, tend to alleviate many of the above problems to varying degrees; these cycles may prove to be of practical interest at some future date, but are unlikely to compete with D-TLi in early generation reactors. Thus, the currently most promising fusion reaction, D-T, uses radioactive material in the form of tritium and produces neutrons that, in turn, will induce radioactivity in the structural and operating material contained within the reactor.
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From page 4...
... Fuel cycles other than D-T exist that offer the possibility of increasing ths proportion of fusion energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation and kinetic energy of charged particles. This could, in principle, lead to higher efficiency energy conversion options and unique applications for chemical production and materials processing.
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Key Terms

  • fusion reaction
  • fuel cycle
  • fusion energy
  • fusion reactors
  • fusion fuel

  • fusion reactions
  • fusion reactor
  • kinetic energy
  • fissile atoms
  • reaction involving

  • stringent plasma
  • plasma conditions
  • periodic table
  • mev fusion
  • fusion plant

  • fusion neutrons
  • fusion denotes
  • promising fusion
  • fusion applications
  • commercial fusion

  • undergo fusion
  • priate fuel
  • advanced fuel
  • breeding fuel
  • produce fissile

  • reactions require
  • produce carbon
  • produce tritium
  • energy conversion
  • produce electricity


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