Nevins lawrence livermore national laboratory, livermore, california 94550 received 20 march 1995. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a fusion concept proposed in the 1950s. The potential use of an inertial electrostatic confinement iec power source for space propulsion has previously been suggested by the authors and others. He gave an annual update on molecular nanotechnology at singularity university on nanotechnology, gave a tedx talk on energy, and advises usc aste 527 advanced space projects program. The device can be used to accelerate ions along a collision path with other accelerated ions or other present particles resulting in a nuclear fusion reaction. Fundamentals and applications kindle edition by miley, george h. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a means to confine ions for fusion purposes with electrostatic fields in a converging geometry. Eindhoven university of technology master the design and.
Professor sudarshan loyalka professor mark prelas professor edbertho lealquiros professor scott kovaleski. In the 1950s, research was done on one form of iec, purely electrostatic confinement, in which a voltage difference on. Development of economic spherical iec fusion device worcester. Using doppler shift spectroscopy, it is shown that directional ion beams. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion. He referred to as inertial electrostatic confinement, a term that continues to be used to this day. Inertial electrostatic confinement, or iec, is a class of fusion power devices that use electric. Can inertial electrostatic confinement work beyond the ion. Inertialelectrostatic confinement offers several possible advantages for the confinement of a q 1 fusion plasma. Read, download and publish confinement magazines, ebooks. The device improves upon the prior art by using a plasma as one of the electrodes forming the potential. On the inertialelectrostatic confinement of a plasma. However, the detailed ionization and confinement mechanism are still under.
A general critique of inertialelectrostatic confinement fusion systems todd h. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion power using either dhe3 or pb11 fuels can provide a highpower density fusion propulsion system for deep space missions, but a large multigw thruster is required which is a long term development program. To the home of inertial electrostatic confinement iec at the university of wisconsinmadison. An optical signal of iec plasma using different gases has been registered by means of an optical fiber and photomultiplier pmt. Statement of work for advanced gaseous electrostatic energy agee concept exploration pdf. Fusion in a magneticallyshieldedgrid inertial electrostatic. Continuous grid inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Electrostatic pressure from the positively charge electrodes would keep the fuel as a whole off of the walls of the chamber, and impacts from new ions would keep the hottest plasma in the center. This book provides readers with an introductory understanding of inertial electrostatic confinement iec, a type of fusion meant to retain plasma using an electrostatic field. Pdf inertial electrostatic confinement as a power source.
We are a research group affiliated with the fusion technology institute in the department of engineering physics. Inertial electrostatic confinement project university of. Simulation and optimization of an inertial electrostatic. It was first conceived in the mid twentieth century, but received little serious attention until about two decades ago. Electric fields can do work on charged particles either ions or electrons, heating them to fusion conditions. Inertial electrostatic confinement todays simplest.
How icf works lawrence livermore national laboratory. Iec provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as it offers a number of spinoff applications, such as a small. Pdf inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a fusion concept proposed in the 1950s. Most iec devices directly accelerate their fuel to fusion conditions. A continuous electrode ce inertial electrostatic confinement iec device has particle paths radially extending from a central core region. Knapp medical university of south carolina and wilhelm bratwurst institute charleston, south carolina, 29425 usa ictp. Generically, such systems are called inertialelectrostatic confinement iec fusion systems. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion springerlink. Numerous past experiments have produced data that warrants further 14 sved, j. Approximate modeling of cylindrical inertial electrostatic.
The most primitive iecf device consists of a spherical grounded anode and a grid cathode which are set concentrically as shown in fig. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec the proposed power source is a fusion system, based on the principles of the iec, a method of electrostatically confining a fusion plasma first proposed by salisbury cz3and farnsworth. You must be logged in to scitation to activate your free access. Can inertial electrostatic confinement work beyond the ionion collisional time scale. Springer nature is making sarscov2 and covid19 research free. The field accelerates charged particles either ions or electrons radially inward, usually in a. Assuming monoenergetic ion and electron distribution functions, the poisson equation for bipolar currents is. Inertial electrostatic confinement wikimili, the free. This is typically done in a sphere, with material moving radially inward, but can also be done in a cylindrical or beam geometry. A system in which electrons are projected radially inwards from a spherical surface, has been proposed for the confinement of a plasma at thermonuclear temperatures. Inertial confinement article about inertial confinement. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec devices for propulsion of satellites used for disaster monitoring. Iec provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as.
Inertial electrostatic confinement for cheap energy and. The ans young members group has developed a new live webinar series that is free to all, and harsh desai is excited. Continuous electrode inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Abstract a system in which electrons are projected radially inwards from a spherical surface, has been proposed for the confinement of a plasma at thermonuclear temperatures. Its engineering simplicity makes it appealing when compared to magnetic confinement devices. Inertial electrostatic confinement wikipedia republished. Theory for a gridded inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion system is presented. Theoretical and experimental studies of spherical devices presented by ryan meyer, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Schilling department of aerospace engineering, university of maryland, united states abstract inertial electrostatic confinement iec as a concept for. Breakthrough of inertial electrostatic confinement concept for. Pdf operation of inertial electrostatic confinement.
The equilibrium, economics, and stability of such a system are discussed theoretically. Inertial electrostatic confinement often abbreviated as iec is a concept for retaining a plasma using an electrostatic field. The discharge current of plasma discharge has been recorded using current probe. Ions are accelerated within one mean free path to high fusion relevant energies. Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmasters page for free fun content.
The inertial electrostatic confinement fusion reactor iec fusion is a potential method for controlled fusion power. Miley fusion studies laboratory, department of nuclear engineering university of illinois at urbanachampaign 103 south goodwin avenue, urbana, il, 61801. The activities of inertial electrostatic confinement iec research for propulsion application in irs. Each particle path has a corresponding particle path aligned on an opposite side of the central core region. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion listed as iecf. Us7550741b2 inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Iaea college on advanced plasma physics august, 2014. Most iec devices directly accelerate their fuel to fusion conditions, thereby avoiding energy losses seen during the longer heating stages of mfe devices.
Pdf operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf. A device for accelerating ions between a potential towards a central point in space is disclosed. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec based compact x. The present note describes a fundamentally different fusion concept based on electrostatic focusing of ions into a dense core. The suitability of various implementations of inertialelectrostatic confinement iec sys temsfor use as. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Lindl, development of the indirectdrive approach to inertial confinement fusion and the target physics basis for ignition and gain, physics of plasmas, vol. A general critique of inertialelectrostatic confinement. Full text of inertial electrostatic confinement todays. The design and optimization of an inertial electrostatic confinement. The light passing through the fiber is directed to the entrance window of a photomultiplier pmt, hamamatsu r955, connected to the digital scope. Continuous grid inertial electrostatic confinement fusion raymond j. On this page you will find a variety of resources relating to our work with iec over the last decade. Practically without the necessity of full confinement one mean free path. Inertial electrostatic confinement or iec, is a technology for practical nuclear plasma fusion. He has been interviewed for radio, professional organizations. He gave the recent keynote presentation at monte jade event with a talk entitled the future for you.
The suitability of various implementations of inertial electrostatic confinement iec systemsfor use as dt, dd, d3he, pl1b, and p6li reactors is examined. The iec fusion reactor confines plasma via a strong electrostatic potential between two concentric grids as ions stream towards the center. Approximate modeling of cylindrical inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion neutron generator blair p. Inertial electrostatic confinement, or iec, is a class of fusion power devices that use electric fields to confine the plasma rather than the more common approach using magnetic fields found in magnetic fusion energy mfe designs. Us9881698b2 planar geometry inertial electrostatic. The systems and methods described herein relate to the use of electrostatic elements to confine and circulate ions in trapped orbits so as to facilitate ionion and ionneutral collisions resulting in nuclear fusion reactions. Inertial electrostatic confinement is a branch of fusion research which uses an electric field to heat a plasma to fusion conditions.
Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion reactor mk. Fusion energy in an inertial electrostatic confinement device using a. Pdf an optical signal of iec plasma using different gases has been registered by means of an optical fiber and photomultiplier pmt. In the 1950s, research was done on one form of iec, purely electrostatic confinement, in which a voltage difference on concentric grids focuses charged particles 1. The suitability of various implementations of inertialelectrostatic confinement iec systems for. The systems employ a disc shaped cloud of ions wherein the turning region for the recirculating ions are located in a circular space around the periphery of the disc. An inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf is a simple device which can cause fusion reaction, and is expected to be used as a compact neutronbeam generator. Electric fsl422 inertial electrostatic confinement as a. Inertial confinement fusion mit opencourseware free.
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