New Opportunities for Fusion in the 21^st Century - Advanced Fuels

Abstract

It is shown that the long-range goal of the world fusion program can be to generate energy without long-lived radioactive waste and the associated safety problems that accompany today's nuclear power sources. This can ultimately be accomplished through the ³He-based fusion fuel cycles. This paper compares ³He-based fusion fuels with first-generation, D-based fusion fuels and fission. Potential applications of ³He fusion to radioisotope generation, proliferation-resistant electrical power plants, and space propulsion are also discussed.