HIGH-ENERGY HEAVY-ION BEAMS AS IGNITERS FOR COMMERCIAL-SCALE INTERTIAL-FUSION POWER PLANTS

Commercial-scale inertial-fusion power can be generated by producing a steady succession of thermonuclear microexplosions of small pellet targets whose ignition requires supplying a few magajoules in a few nanoseconds, a goal well beyond the present single-shot capabilities of high-power pulsed laser and electron-beam systems which also lack the needed repetition-rate capability of order one per second. However, existing high-energy accelerator technology with straightforward engineering extrapolations, applied to pulsed beams of heavy ions in low charge states, can meet all requirements. The relevant accelerator capabilities are discussed; three widely differing types of accelerators show promise. Needed developmental work is mostly on lower-energy components and can be conducted at relatively low cost. Some of the work started at several accelerator laboratories on this new approach within the past year are described, and possible goals of an early demonstration construction project are indicated