A realistic, gradual and economical approach to fusion power
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This article describes, in broad outline, a nuclear power plant that generates power by means of repetitive, low-yield explosions in an underground chamber. Such a plant can be built in the near future by using modest extensions of existing technology, and it could be economically competitive if certain parts of the cost are controlled. This is in contrast to magnetic and inertial confinement fusion, of which the technical and economic feasibility will remain highly uncertain for the foreseeable future. Technical improvements of the envisioned plant can be introduced gradually with corresponding reductions in cost of power production. With advancing technology, an increasingly larger fraction of the power can be extracted from fusion reactions, thus providing a smooth transition to a fusion-based economy. Eventually, pure (inertial) fusion schemes could be incorporated into the power plant in a natural way, thereby shortening the time required to achieve large-scale use of fusion power--possibly by decades. This article considers both the technical aspects of this route to fusion power and the relevant issues of public policy. 42 refs., 6 figs.