The future of fusion energy / Jason Parisi, University of Oxford, UK, Justin Ball, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parisi, Jason, author.

Ball, Justin (Justin Richard), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear fusion.

Renewable energy sources.

Power resources.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 378 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Jersey : World Scientific, [2019]

Summary:

"The gap between the state of fusion energy research and public understanding is vast. In an entertaining and engaging narrative, this popular science book gives readers the basic tools to understand how fusion works, its potential, and contemporary research problems"-- Publisher's description.

Contents:

1 The Hydrogen-Powered Civilization p. 3

1.1 Revolutions in Energy Use p. 3

1.2 Comparing Options p. 7

2 Energy in Numbers and Graphs p. 11

2.1 Can We Even Consume Energy? p. 11

2.2 A Brief History of Energy p. 12

2.3 Our Energy Resources p. 17

2.3.1 Fusion p. 19

2.3.2 Nuclear fission p. 23

2.3.3 Geothermal p. 27

2.3.4 Solar p. 28

2.3.5 Wind p. 30

2.3.6 Biomass p. 35

2.3.7 Fossil fuels p. 37

2.3.8 Hydroelectric p. 39

2.3.9 Tidal p. 41

2.3.10 Wave p. 44

2.4 Tackling Intermittency p. 46

2.4.1 Energy storage p. 50

2.4.2 Demand management p. 54

2.4.3 Expanding electrical grids p. 54

2.4.4 Extra generating capacity p. 56

2.5 What is "Renewable"? p. 57

3 Fundamentals of Fusion Energy p. 65

3.1 The Nuclear Potential p. 65

3.2 Binding Energy p. 70

3.3 Fusion Cross-Section p. 77

3.4 Fusion Fuels p. 83

3.5 Plasma p. 86

4 Plasma Confinement p. 89

4.1 Quantifying Confinement p. 90

4.2 Magnetic Fields p. 91

4.3 Electric Fields p. 94

4.4 Electrostatic Confinement p. 96

4.5 Linear Magnetic Confinement p. 100

4.6 Combing a Hairy Ball p. 103

4.7 Particle Drifts p. 104

4.8 Toroidal Magnetic Confinement p. 109

4.9 Magnetic Surfaces p. 114

4.10 Bananas and Super-Bananas p. 118

4.11 MIID Stability p. 120

4.12 Classical and Neoclassical Transport p. 123

4.13 Turbulent Transport p. 126

4.14 The Lawson Criterion and the Triple Product p. 131

4.15 Where is Magnetic Fusion Now? p. 136

5 Fusion Technology p. 139

5.1 Magnets p. 139

5.2 Plasma Heating and Current Drive p. 144

5.2.1 Inductive p. 145

5.2.2 Neutral beam p. 148

5.2.3 Electromagnetic wave p. 150

5.3 First Wall p. 153

5.4 Divertors p. 157

5.5 Tritium Breeding Blanket p. 160

5.6 Vacuum Vessel p. 164

5.7 Diagnostics p. 164

5.8 Radioactive Waste and Remote Maintenance p. 167

5.9 Generating Net Electricity p. 169

Part 3 The State Of The Art p. 173

6 The Past: Fusion Breakthroughs p. 175

6.1 1920s: Understanding Stars p. 175

6.2 1950s: A Kick-Start for Fusion p. 179

6.3 1960s: Superconducting Magnets p. 181

6.4 1960s: The Tokamak p. 186

6.5 1970s: Bootstrap Current p. 189

6.6 1980s: H-Mode p. 193

6.7 1980s: Plasma Shaping p. 198

6.8 1990s: Deuterium-Tritium Fuel p. 202

6.9 2000s: Supercomputers p. 204

7 The Present: ITER p. 211

7.1 ITER's Goals p. 212

7.2 ITER's Strategy p. 216

7.2.1 Heating systems p. 218

7.2.2 Divertor p. 220

7.2.3 First wall p. 222

7.3 ITER's Schedule and Cost p. 224

7.4 Transition to DEMO p. 232

7.5 Other Things to be Excited for p. 234

8 The Future: Designing a Tokamak Power Plant p. 237

8.1 Power Plant Design from First Principles p. 238

8.2 Maximizing Net Electric Power p. 241

8.3 Maximizing Plasma Pressure p. 243

8.4 Maximizing Plasma Current p. 246

8.5 Maximizing Magnetic Field Strength p. 247

8.6 Minimizing External Power p. 249

8.7 Minimizing Heating Power p. 249

8.8 Maximizing Plasma Density p. 253

8.9 Minimizing Current Drive Power p. 253

8.10 Maximizing Material Survivability p. 255

8.11 Striking the Right Balance p. 257

Part 4 Special Topics p. 261

9 Alternative Approaches to Fusion Energy p. 263

9.1 Stellarators p. 263

9.2 Inertial Confinement Fusion p. 269

9.3 Private Fusion Startups p. 277

9.3.1 Tokamak Energy Ltd p. 281

9.3.2 General Fusion p. 284

9.3.3 Lockheed Martin p. 287

9.3.4 TAE Technologies p. 290

9.3.5 Lawrenceville Plasma Physics p. 296

9.3.6 Helion Energy p. 300

9.3.7 Commonwealth Fusion Systems p. 301

10 Fusion and Nuclear Proliferation p. 303

10.1 Nuclear Physics: A Double-edged Sword p. 310

10.2 Building Nukes p. 312

10.2.1 Uranium enrichment p. 317

10.2.2 Plutonium production p. 320

10.2.3 Weapon designs p. 321

10.3 Conventional Fission Reactors p. 325

10.4 Breeder Reactors p. 330

10.5 Fission Proliferation Risks p. 333

10.6 Fusion Proliferation Risks p. 336

10.7 The Nuclear Energy Transition p. 341

10.8 Reshaping Geopolitics p. 343

10.9 Being a Role Model p. 344

11 Fusion and Space Exploration p. 347

11.1 Basics of Spaceflight p. 349

11.2 Fusion Thruster p. 354

12 When Will We Have Fusion? p. 359.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781786345424

1786345420

OCLC:

1022587339