Fusion

Thermonuclear Fusion

heat the deuterium-tritium fuel to a sufficienly high temperature

Necessary temperature

around 10keV, about 100 million degrees centigrade

• In a tokamak the plasma particles are confined to a toroidal region by a magnetic field, being held by the field in small gyrating orbits.

Energy required for ignition

$$\hat n\tau_E\hat T>5\times10^{21}m^{-3}sKeV$$ $$\hat n\ is\ the\ peak\ ion\ density\ in\ the\ plasma$$ $$\hat T\ is\ the\ peak\ temperature\ in\ the\ plasma$$ $$\tau_E\ is\ the\ energy\ confinement\ time$$

• The nuclei of deuterium and tritium fuse to produce an alpha particle with the release of a neutron $$\begin{aligned} _1D^2\ \ \ \ \ \ +\ \ \ \ \ \ _1T^3\longrightarrow _2H&e^4\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ +&_0n^1\\ &| &| \\ &35MeV\ \ + &&141MeV=176MeV \end{aligned}$$

Reference Book
Tokamaks by John Wesson