Abstract
The first Dense Z-Pinch (DZP) conference, in 1984, marked an attempt to use then-modern pulsed power with a Z-pinch to work toward thermonuclear fusion energy. This 11th DZP conference in China is a good time to look back, to comment on progress since, and to project forward. What follows is a personal perspective: scattered comments from a sympathetic outsider and one-time participant. In these 35 years, Z-pinch theory has evolved from little more than cartoons to fully 3D MHD computer simulations, measurements have gone from mostly time- and spatially integrated diagnostics to monochromatic imaging, highly resolved x-ray spectroscopy, and active laser probing. Large pulsed power generators now drive x-ray-producing Z-pinches that are powerful enough for many applications; thermonuclear fusion may work single-shot in the future.
Highlights
Thermonuclear fusion burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with almost unlimited explosive power, and, ever since, thermonuclear fusion has been thought of as a potentially unlimited supply of energy: fission became useful as an energy source almost overnight, so why not fusion? A linear Z-pinch was an early attempt to create a fusionrelevant plasma in the laboratory
A few energetic ions can participate in an exothermic nuclear reaction, but the resulting energy is much less than the energy that the vast majority of these energetic ions lose to the plasma
Despite the failure to produce fusion energy with a Z-pinch that started off Dense Z-Pinch (DZP), thermonuclear fusion research keeps going in part because of its enormous payoff, “The Final Solution to the World’s Energy Problem.”
Summary
Thermonuclear fusion burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with almost unlimited explosive power, and, ever since, thermonuclear fusion has been thought of as a potentially unlimited supply of energy: fission became useful as an energy source almost overnight, so why not fusion? A linear Z-pinch was an early attempt to create a fusionrelevant plasma in the laboratory. ICF tries to achieve thermonuclear conditions by compressing a small DT sphere from all sides with a short pulse of power, from x-rays or otherwise: the aim is for inertia to keep the DT plasma dense enough for sufficiently long to produce appreciable energy. The DOD deals with x-rays only, for which it sponsors research at government laboratories such as NRL, at private companies like PI (or L3Harris), and at universities On this softer Z-pinch side of Fig. 2, the x-ray outputs are large enough to fulfill the requirements, so further work is not so urgent. Many smaller pulsed power generators that can still create relevant plasmas are important in Z-pinch research, and are quite productive: the diagnostics from plasmas made by smaller machines are just as challenging to interpret as those from the massive facilities. I apologize upfront for any misconceptions I may have, for selecting my favorite topics over yours, and for freely taking information I deemed reliable from the web: distressingly many pitches for fusion are misleading nonsense
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