Reply To: NIMBY FUD

[asymmetric_implosion]

The short answer is the PF is unlikely to make an impact on sub-critical fission systems. Current plasma focus devices operate at a peak of ~1E12 neutrons per shot (DD) at ~2MA. If one assumes the 100X gain by going to DT and it is a big if, you need more than 3X the current. A 7 MA driver running at repetition rate has not been demonstrated. I don’t know of a plasma focus that has operated above 3 MA. The electrode erosion, vacuum chamber design, confirmation that the fast ion beam does not substantially exceed the peak in the DT fusion cross section, next generation pulse power technology beyond the requirements of FoFu-1 and years of engineering failure analysis make this approach unlikely. The accelerator systems are much closer to reality with countries like India pouring money into ADS. An accelerator like SNS could be viable for an ADS. The operational time needs to improve but many of the problems are known and could be addressed.