Magnetically insulated inertial fusion - A new approach to controlled thermonuclear fusion.
01 January 1986
A new scheme for a fusion reactor is presented in which a plasma in a force-free magnetic field of ~500T with a density of ~10 (21)cm(-3) is confined by the surrounding heavy metallic shell. The magnetic field inhibits the electron heat conduction to the shell and contributes to increase the inertial confinement time. Preliminary experimental and simulation results in which 100J-CO2 lasers are used to produce the plasma and the magnetic magnetic field give supporting evidences for the feasibility of this new approach to controlled fusion.