Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Systems and methods are provided that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing neutral beam injectors with tunable beam energy capabilities.

Systems and methods are provided that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing neutral beam injectors with tunable beam energy capabilities.

Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

Articles of manufacture, machines, processes for using the articles and machines, processes for making the articles and machines, and products produced by the process of making, along with necessary intermediates, directed to direct nuclear power conversion.

Articles of manufacture, machines, processes for using the articles and machines, processes for making the articles and machines, and products produced by the process of making, along with necessary intermediates, directed to direct nuclear power conversion.

A compact, simpler, more economical ICF target chamber and reactor design that maintains a low internal pressure, sub-atmospheric, and very small neutron flux on any pressure bearing vessel or steam generating mechanism. The present invention reduces radiant target emission towards the nearest wall of the hohlraum wall and/or sleeve material so that the radiation from target burn exits the end of the hohlraum through a wall material sufficiently thick to contain the target drive radiation, but becomes transparent to the target emitted radiation. The compact converter contains the energy released by the ICF target and converts it into usable heat to create steam. It also converts the excess neutrons, from the ICF target, into tritium. This is then collected with the unburnt fuel tritium.

A compact, simpler, more economical ICF target chamber and reactor design that maintains a low internal pressure, sub-atmospheric, and very small neutron flux on any pressure bearing vessel or steam generating mechanism. The present invention reduces radiant target emission towards the nearest wall of the hohlraum wall and/or sleeve material so that the radiation from target burn exits the end of the hohlraum through a wall material sufficiently thick to contain the target drive radiation, but becomes transparent to the target emitted radiation. The compact converter contains the energy released by the ICF target and converts it into usable heat to create steam. It also converts the excess neutrons, from the ICF target, into tritium. This is then collected with the unburnt fuel tritium.

Application of axial seed magnetic fields in the range 20-100 T that compress to greater than 10,000 T (100 MG) under typical NIF implosion conditions may significantly relax the conditions required for ignition and propagating burn in NIF ignition targets that are degraded by hydrodynamic instabilities. Such magnetic fields can: (a) permit the recovery of ignition, or at least significant alpha particle heating, in submarginal NIF targets that would otherwise fail because of adverse hydrodynamic instability growth, (b) permit the attainment of ignition in conventional cryogenic layered solid-DT targets redesigned to operate under reduced drive conditions, (c) permit the attainment of volumetric ignition in simpler, room-temperature single-shell DT gas capsules, and (d) ameliorate adverse hohlraum plasma conditions during laser drive and capsule compression. In general, an applied magnetic field should always improve the ignition condition for any NIF ignition target design.