Background Material for National Research Council Review

Glossary of Fusion Terms

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Updated March 16, 2012
NRC Burning Plasma Science Assessment Committee
  • Final report: Burning Plasma- Bring a Star to Earth  September 2004
  • National Academy Committee named to Review DOE Plan for Burning Plasmas. The first meeting will be held September 17-18, 2002. The final report is scheduled for May 2003.
  • Interim National Research Council Report on the assessment of the proposed U.S. burning plasma program was issued on December 20, 2003.
  • National Research Council Burning Plasma Assessment.A summary of the Interim Report presented to FESAC, March 5, 2003, Ray Fonck, for NRC BPAC (736 kB, pdf)
  • NRC - An Assessment of DOE's Fusion Energy Sciences Program, Kennel Panel Report - 2001 (2.4 MB, pdf).
  • Burning Plasma Science (3.3 MB,pdf) an overview presented by Gerald Navratil at the National Research Council Board of Physics and Astronomy meeting April 26, 2002.
  • New Physics in Fusion Plasma Confinement Richard Hazeltine and Stewart Prager, Physics Today, July 2002. (Internet Explorer web archive)
  • Plasma Science , National Research Council Panel on Opportunities in Plasma Science and Technology, 1995.
    • Presentations for NRC-BPAC Meeting #4, May 5-5, 2003.
  • The 4th meeting of the NRC's burning plasma assessment committee was held in Washington DC at the National Academies building at 500 Fifth Street on May 5th and 6th. If you have any questions or comments for the committee please email them to burningplasma@nas.edu.
  • Background Material
    Presentations for NRC-BPAC Meeting #3, January 17-19, 2003
  • Agenda (80 kB, pdf)
  • Comments Related to FESAC Burning Plasma Recommendations Stewart Prager, (40 kB, ppt)
  • Fusion Power - Industrial Perspective , Steve Dean, (112 kB, pdf)
  • Fusion Development Path Panel Preliminary Report Rob Goldston, (1.6 MB, pdf)
  • Review of US Programs and Process Michael Mauel, (1.1 MB, pdf)
  • Future of Tokamak Facilities with a Burning Plasma Experiment , Ron Stambaugh, (7 MB, pdf)
  • "Multi-Machine" Strategy: The Other Path of the FESAC Burning Plasma Strategy Gerald Navratil, (1.6 MB, pdf)
    Presentations for NRC-BPAC Meeting #2, November 18 , 2002
  • Agenda (80 kB, pdf)
  • Fusion Power - I think we are lost Robert L. Hirsch (250 kB, pdf)
  • ITER Q&A Anne Davies and Ned Sauthoff, (250 kB, pdf)
  • Remarks on Fusion and Burning Plasma Assessment John Marburger, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy (250 kB, pdf)
    Presentations for NRC-BPAC Meeting #1, September 17-18, 2002
  • Agenda (88 kB, pdf)
  • OFES Perspective on Burning Plasmas Anne Davies (670 kB, pdf)
  • OSTP Perspective on Burning Plasma Experimental Program J. Patrick Looney (56 kB, pdf)
  • Office of Science Perspectives, Ray Orbach, Director, Office of Science
  • ITER as a Physics Experiment Karl Lackner (3.2 MB, pdf)
  • FIRE, Exploring Burning Plasma Physics Dale Meade (2.5 MB, pdf)
  • Report on Snowmass Outcomes Gerald Navratil and Ned Sauthoff (450 kB, pdf)
  • A Burning Plasma Program Strategy to Advance Fusion Energy - 2002 Stewart Prager, Chair, FESAC Panel on Burning Plasma Strategy (308 kB, pdf)
  • The "Science First" Approach to Fusion Research Bruno Coppi, (2.5 MB, pdf)

    FESAC Reports

  • A Burning Plasma Program Strategy to Advance Fusion Energy - 2002 full report ( 204 kB, pdf)
  • FESAC Burning Plasma Physics Report - 2001 (1.4 MB, pdf),
    ......... Executive Summary (584 kB, pdf).
    ......... FESAC Recommendations Regarding U.S. Participation in ITER (5 kB, pdf).

    PCAST Views on Fusion
    1995 PCAST U.S. Program of Fusion Energy R & D Report July, 1995 (450KB, pdf)
    1997 Report to the President on Federal Energy R & D for the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century (2 MB, pdf) November, 1997

    DOE Office of Science Views on Fusion

  • Challenges for Fusion by Ray Orbach , Director of the Office of Science,presented at PPPL on July 31, 2002. Energy Needs during the next century VG (20 kB, pdf). This is a one hour QuickTime movie(150 MB, mov). If you have the QuickTime plug-in installed and selected, this should play as freestreaming video, or you can download the 150 MB file to disk for later viewing. Preferences setting for Freestreaming or Save to Disk.

    • Congressional Views on Fusion
    2000 Congress and the Fusion Energy Sciences Program: An Historical Analysis R. L. Rowberg, CRS (270 kB, pdf)
    US Fusion Budget History Table or graph
    1987 Starpower: The U.S. and the International Quest for Fusion Energy, October 1987 (5.7 MB, pdf)
    1980 Fusion Energy Act 1980 (408 kB, pdf)

    2002 Fusion Summer Study at Snowmass

  • Press Release from 2002 Fusion Summer Study , at Snowmass, July 2002.
  • Executive Summary of MFE Study , at Snowmass, July 2002.
  • Preamble for the MFE Presentations , Ned Sauthoff at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (32 kB, pdf)
  • Major Conclusions of the MFE Study , at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (0.4 MB, pdf)
  • IGNITOR , Bruno Coppi at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (0.86 MB, pdf)
  • FIRE, the Movie , Dale Meade at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (15 MB, QuickTime Freestreaming Web Movie) Download the VGs using the next link, and use them to follow the audio from the Quicktime movie.
  • FIRE, An Opportunity to Explore Burning Plasmas , Dale Meade at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (1.2 MB, pdf)
  • The Case for ITER , Karl Lackner at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (1.2 MB, pdf)
  • MFE Burning Plasmas and Innovative Confinement Concepts (ICCs) , Bick Hooper at concluding plenary session. July 19, 2002, (16 kB, pdf)
  • Benefits of a Domestic Burning Plasma Experiment , Michael Mauel at Snowmass, July 16 2002. (0.4 MB, pdf)
  • Benefits of an International Burning Plasma Experiment (ITER) , Ron Parker at Snowmass, July 16 2002. (12 kB, pdf)
  • Comments to FESAC Burning Plasma Strategy Panel , James Callen at Snowmass, July 16 2002. ( 2 MB, pdf)
  • Does a Single Large Facility Imply Increased Risk? , Ron Parker at Snowmass, July 11 2002. (56 kB, pdf)
  • A Comparison of Unit Costs for FIRE and ITER , Dale Meade, presented at ITER Cost Review Session July 9, 2002. ( 12 kB, pdf)
  • Fusion Development Path Scenarios , Farrokh Najmabadi et al, Section 6 from Final Report of E4 Development Path Working Group July 25, 2002. ( 160 kB, pdf)
  • Additional Snowmass Talks MFE and IFE by day.

    • 1999 Fusion Summer Study at Snowmass

  • Snowmass Summer Studies
  • Reflections on Fusion's History and Implications for Fusion's Future. R. Conn. Plenary Presentation at Snowmass(95KB, pdf)

    • U. S Fusion Reviews and Strategy Reports
    1976 U.S. Plan to Develop Fusion , Vol I (3.2 MB, pdf)
    1980 Fusion Energy Act 1980 (408 kB,pdf)
    1986 MFAC Panel XIV Report February 1986
    1990 US Fusion Community Development Plan 1990 (1.1 MB, pdf)
    1990 FPAC 1990 (5.5 MB, pdf)
    1995 US Lab Directors Modular Strategy (668 kB, pdf)
    1995 PCAST U.S. Program of Fusion Energy R & D Report July, 1995 (450KB, pdf)
    1997 Report to the President on Federal Energy R & D for the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century (2 MB, pdf) November, 1997
    1997 White Paper on a New Approach submitted to Grunder FESAC Panel October , 1997 (60 kB, pdf)
    1998 Grunder Panel Report to FESAC January, 1998 (25 kB, pdf)
    1998 SWG Task 2 US Position 1998, (76 kB, pdf)
    1998 Possible Pathways for Pursuing Burning Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy Development July 17, 1998 Report
    1998 Modular Strategy July 1998 (90KB, pdf)
    1999 SEAB Task Force on Fusion Energy .(540KB, pdf)
    2001 NRC 2001 Kennel Panel (2.4 MB, pdf).
    2001 FESAC BP Report 2001 (1.4 MB, pdf),
    ......... Executive Summary (584 kB, pdf).
    ......... FESAC Recommendations Regarding U.S. Participation in ITER (5 kB, pdf).
    2002 50 Years of Fusion Research - An Overview of Programs S. Dean (1 MB, pdf)

    European Fusion Reviews and Strategy Reports
    1990 Next Step Program - Modular Strategy 1990 (1.3 MB, pdf)
    2000 Fusion Programme Evaluation, Airagi Panel May, 2000, (390 kB, pdf)
    2001 Bundestag Fusion Debate response to 87 questions March 26, 2001.
    2001 European Fast Track Strategy, King Panel December, 2001 (150 kB, pdf)

    Japanese Fusion Reviews and Strategy Reports
    1999 Japan Fusion Perspective (660 kB, pdf)
    2000 Specal Committee on the ITER Project in Japan April 2000
    2001 Technical Feasibility of Fusion March 4, 2001, (17.8 MB, bookmarked pdf).
    2001 Council of Science and Technology Policy on ITER December 2001, (64 kB, pdf)

    Other Information
    FIRE Web Page
    ITER Web Page
    IGNITOR Web Page
    Other Fusion Websites
    PPPL Library Links to electronic journals
    U. S. Fusion Facility and Personnel Directory Fusion Power Associates

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