FUSION-FISSION REACTOR DRIVEN BY PLASMA-LINER IMPACT.

This paper describes a concept of a fusion reactor (or a powerful neutron source for a hybrid reactor) based on the principles of inertial confinement and particularly on the mechanism of plasma-liner impact. It is shown that the impact of a quasi-spherical plasma liner on a spherical solid liner can produce a highly luminous source of soft X rays. This radiation can be used for the ablation of an inner spherical liner, which can be thus accelerated to speeds above 10**7 cm/sec. Such a liner should be able to compress a core of fissionable material, surrounded by a D-T mantle to fission-criticality. The burst of the fission energy then ignites the D-T mantle which produces a larger burst of fusion energy. The energy liberated in such a microexplosion is estimated to be of the order of 1 GJ. An apparatus based on a symmetrical plasma-focus geometry should be able to produce the plasma liner. A reactor combining these concepts is described.