Laser‐induced thermonuclear fusion

AUG 01, 1973

Can focused laser pulses in the gigawatt range be used to compress hydrogen droplets by a thousand‐fold to create energy‐producing reactions?

DOI: 10.1063/1.3128183

John Nuckolls

John Emmett

Lowell Wood

Laser‐induced fusion has recently joined magnetic‐confinement fusion as a prime prospect for generating controlled thermonuclear power. During the past three years, the Atomic Energy Commission has accelerated the national laser‐fusion program more than tenfold, to about $30 million annually, and the Soviet Union has a program of comparable size.

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More about the Authors

John Nuckolls. University of California Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

John Emmett. University of California Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

Lowell Wood. University of California Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.