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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion

Defense Intelligence Agency · 72 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Defense Intelligence Agency reference document, dated 10 March 2010, covers inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion. It was produced in FY 2009 under the DIA's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) program. The report focuses on work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and reviews IEC basics, experiments, theory and applications such as neutron sources, explosives detection and space propulsion. It concludes by proposing a breakeven experiment for p-11B fusion that uses a hydrogen plasma simulation.

  • p. 5 …at 25mtorr, 20mA 31 Figure 4.1. Cross Section of the Experimental Layout of the PFX…
  • p. 6 …p- 11B Fusion Cross Section Energy Requirements ............................... 62 Figure 6.2. IEC System With Radio Frequency…
  • p. 8 …In practice however, the scattering cross section is larger than the fusion cross section. Thus many…
  • p. 9 …on the fuel via the selection of cross sections in the derivation. Magnetic confinement is generally…
  • p. 26 …near the peak energy of the fusion cross section. Thus this issue deserves more study to…
  • p. 27 …can provide valuable data regarding 3He fusion cross sections at "low" energies with better counting statistics…
  • p. 33 …the plasma to expand giving a broad cross section beam. Experimental Jet Design and Performance Figure…
  • p. 41 …it suffers from several Figure 4.1. Cross Section of the Experimental Layout of the PFX…
  • p. 52 …D2+ ions have a smaller CX cross section and it takes about 20 passes for most…
  • p. 65 …point, the vector direction they assume in crossing the null is random. The result then can…
  • p. 68 …the peak of the p- 11 B cross section. In contrast, in Maxwellian-type plasmas typical…
  • p. 69 …p- 11 B Fusion Cross Section Energy Requirements. The p-"B reaction rate approaches that of…
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temperatures are suppressed. These issues will be discussed further in Section IV on
theory and Section VI on a proposed breakeven experiment.
REFERENCES
1.1 W. Elmore, J. Tuck, and K. Watson, "On the Inertial-Electrostatic Confinement of
a Plasma", Phys. Fluids, vol. 2, No. 3, ( 1959) pp. 239-246.
1.2 R.L. Hirsch, "Inertial-electrostatic confinement of ionized fusion gases," J. of Appl.
Phys., vol. 38, (1967) pp. 4522-4534.
1.3 W. M. Black and E. H. Klevans, "Theory of Potential-Well Formation in an
Electrostatic Confinement Device", J. of Appl. Phys., Vol. 45, No. 6 (1974) pp. 2502-
2511.
1.4 T. A. Thorson, R. D. Durst, R. J. Fonck, and L. P. Wainwright, "Convergence
Electrostatic Potential, and Density Measurements in a Spherical Convergent Ion
Focus", Phys. Plasmas, vol. 4, no. 1, (1997) pp. 4-5.
1.5 G.H. Miley, et al., "Inertial-electrostatic confinement neutron proton source,"
Third International Conference on Dense 2-pinches, AIP Conference Proceedings 299,
(1993) pp. 675-689.
1.6 R.W. Bussard, "Some Physics Considerations of Magnetic Inertial-Electrostatic
Confinement: A New Concept for Spherical Converging-Flow Fusion", Fusion
Technology, vol. 19, no. 2, (1991) pp. 273-293.
1.7 N. A. Krall, "The Polywell™: A Spherically Convergent Ion Focus Concept", Fusion
Technology, vol. 22, no!, (1992) pp. 42-49.
1.8 S. K. Wong and N. A. Krall, "A Nonlocal Theory of Counterstreaming Ion
Instability", Phys. Fluids B, vol. 5, no.6, (1993) pp. 1706-1714.
1.9 D. C. Barnes, M. M. Schauer, K. R. Umstadter, L. Chacon, and G. H. Miley,
"Electron equilibrium and confinement in a modified Penning trap and its application
to Penning fusion", Phys. Plasmas, vol. 7, no. 5, May (2000).
1.10 R. A. Nebel, D. C. Barnes, Fusion Technology 38, 28 (1998).
1.11 D. C. Barnes, R. A. Nebel, "Stable, thermal equilibrium, large-amplitude,
spherical plasma oscillations in electrostatic confinement devices", Physics of
Plasmas 5, 2498 (1998).
1.12 J. Park, R. A. Nebel, S. Stange, S. K. Murali, "Periodically oscillating plasma
sphere", Physics of Plasmas 12, (2005) 056315.
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