New Laser Fusion and Its Gain by Intense Laser

Abstract: The feasibility of a new approach of laser fusion in plasma without implosion has been proposed and is discussed using an intense laser. The cross section of the nuclear reaction is increased by enhancing the penetrability of nuclei through the Coulomb barrier. In this approach, an intense laser field of more than 100 PW was required to distort the Coulomb barrier to obtain enough penetrability. An energy gain even with Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) reaction can be obtained using this scheme in Deuterium plasma. A reactor with neutron and direct conversion of charged particle beam individually is proposed. Charged particles from D-D reaction are guided to the end of the reactor and are directly converted by a MHD scheme into electric energy. The energy recovery rate is high and requires a small amount of laser energy, which may make the energy cost cheaper than that of a fission reactor.