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The Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Approach to Fusion Power

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Book cover Current Trends in International Fusion Research

Abstract

Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) of a non-Maxwellian beam-dominated plasma for fusion was originally proposed in the 1950s, but since then, only sporadic work has been devoted to the subject. Nevertheless, recent experiments have shown that small IEC devices are well-suited for commercial applications as a portable low-level neutron source for activation analysis. However, the scaling to a high- power fusion reactor is uncertain, due to the lack of experimental data with higher input currents. Three key issues need to be resolved: the stability of multiple-potential-well structures, the confinement time of energetic ions trapped in such wells, and the protection of grid structures during high-power operation. Conceptual design studies that assume a positive resolution of these issues show, however, that the resulting reactor would be economically attractive and very versatile.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fusion Studies Laboratory, University of Illinois, 103 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois, 61801-2984, USA

    George H. Miley

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  1. George H. Miley
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Laser and Fusion Technology, Inc., Hull, P.Q., Canada

    Emilio Panarella

  2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

    Emilio Panarella

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Miley, G.H. (1997). The Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Approach to Fusion Power. In: Panarella, E. (eds) Current Trends in International Fusion Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5867-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5867-5_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7690-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5867-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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