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Fusion As a Research Program Chapter 6 Fusion as a Research Program . Page Near-Term Benefits. + . , .............131 Development of Plasma Physics . ...+..... ...........131 Educating Plasma Physicists . .....+... .......................132 Advancing Science and Technology . ........132 Stature ● **..****.*.***** . ***.************ .. *******~*****.. ......133 Near-Term Benefits. ........= ...134 Magnetic Fusion Funding . ..........................134 Magnetic Fusion Personnel. .... ............139 Participation in Magnetic Fusion Research.. .. ... + ......140 ‘Department of Energy National Laboratories . m +.. 140 Universities and Colleges . + .+....... .......143 Private Industry . .S. ... ... .O. ....O . ........0.0...0.147 summary and Conclusions. ... .+ ......151 Figures Figure No. Page 6-1. Federal Funding of Plasma Physics in 1984. ., ........132 62. Defense and Civilian Federal R&D Expenditures . ....................134 6-3. Major Components in Federally Funded R&O in Fiscal Year 1987. ......135 64. Historical Component Funding Levels of Federal R&D Programs... .. ....136 6-6 MajorDOE Civilian R&D Funding at National Laboratories in Fiscal Year1987 .**.+** ● . ● ****4** ● ***.... .*.**B** .***.*.. 141 Page *....*. ● ✎☞☛✎✎✎✎ 137 .*+**.** ● .*.*.. 139 .****** .***.... 141 .*+**.. 145 ,...., ● *,*... ● o 147 Chapter 6 Fusion as a Research Program The ultimate objective of fusion research is to A complete analysis of the fusion energy program produce a commercially viable energy source. must include the immediate, indirect benefits and Yet, because the research program is exploring costs of the ongoing research effort, in addition new realms of science and technology, it also pro- to its progress in reaching its long-term goal. vides a weal h of near-term, non-energy benefits. NEAR-TERM BENEFITS Fusion research has provided four major near- and fluid dynamics. Today, plasma physics goes term, non-energy benefits. It has been a driving beyond fusion research. Since most known mat- force behind the development of plasma physics. ter in the universe is in the plasma state, plasma It educates plasma physicists who contribute to physics is central to our understanding of nature fusion and other fields. It produces technologies and to the fields of space science and astrophysics. with valuable applications elsewhere, and it has Theories and techniques developed in plasma put the United States in a strong position in the physics are providing fundamental new insights world scientific community. into classical physics and are opening up new areas of research. Development of Plasma Physics The field of plasma physics has grown rapidly The development of the field of plasma physics since the 1950s. When the American Physical So- ciety formed the Division of Plasma Physics in was driven by the needs of scientists working on 1958, for example, the division had less than 200 controlled thermonuclear fusion and space science and exploration. In the case of fusion energy, members. Today, the Division of Plasma Physics is one of the society’s biggest groups, with almost The simultaneous achievement of high temper- 3,400 members. The careers of most of these atures, densities, and confinement times [needed members originated in magnetic fusion-related for a plasma to generate fusion power] required work. In addition, over 40 American universities significant improvements in forming and under- now have major graduate programs in plasma standing plasmas confined by magnetic fields or physics and/or fusion technology. Graduate level by inertial techniques.l plasma physics courses are also taught in applied Thus, research conducted on the prospects of fu- mathematics and in electrical, nuclear, aeronau- sion energy necessitated concurrent advances in tical, mechanical, and chemical engineering de- the area of plasma physics, and, in fact: partments. The international effort to achieve controlled As shown in figure 6-1, the Department of thermonuclear fusion has been the primary stimu- Energy (DOE) has played a major role in plasma lus to the development of laboratory plasma physics research, funding over three-quarters of 2 physics. federally sponsored plasma physics research in The field of plasma physics has synthesized fiscal year (FY) 1984. Virtually all DOE support many areas of physics previously considered dis- was directed at fusion applications; 72 percent tinct disciplines: mechanics, electromagnetism, of DOE’s funding was dedicated to the magnetic thermodynamics, kinetic theory, atomic physics, fusion program, 26 percent funded the inertial confinement fusion program, and only 2 percent ($3 million, in 1984 dollars) was directed at gen- 1 National Research Council, Physics Through the 1990s: F%srnas and F/uids (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1986), p. 5. eral plasma physics. Outside of the fusion ap- ~lbid. plications, Federal funding for plasma physics 131 132 ● Starpower: The U.S. and the International Quest for Fusion Energy Figure 6-l.— Federal Funding of Plasma Physics Although DOE supports the education of most in 1984 of the Nation’s plasma physics graduates, the de- NOAA (0.2°/0) partment does not have the resources to employ many of these people. A large fraction of the Na- tion’s plasma physicists are engaged in defense- related work;5 plasma physicists also work in universities, private industry, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space science program. Education in plasma physics and fusion research enables these scien- tists to “make major contributions to defense applications, space and astrophysical plasma physics, materials science, applied mathematics, computer science, and other fields."6 Advancing Science and Technology Many high-technology R&D programs produce secondary benefits or “spin -offs.” Spin-offs are not unique to particular fields of research, since extending the frontiers of practically any technol- ogy can lead to external applications. Although spin-offs may benefit society, they are unantici- pated results of research and should not be viewed research is very limited. A National Research as a rationale for continuing or modifying high- Council report concluded that “support for basic technology research programs. Spin-offs may not plasma physics research has practically vanished be efficient mechanisms of developing new or in the United States, ” with only the National Sci- useful technologies, compared to programs dedi- ence Foundation providing funds “clearly for this cated specifically to those purposes. Moreover, purpose.” 3 applications of new technologies are often drawn from several fields and may not be attributable Educating Plasma Physicists to any particular one. Educating plasma physicists, as well as other Over the years, fusion research has contributed scientists and engineers, is one of the most widely to a variety of spin-offs in other fields. While the acknowledged benefits of the fusion program. program cannot claim sole credit, each of the in- Over the last decade, DOE’s magnetic fusion novations listed below has at least one key ele- 7 program has supported the education of almost ment that came from the fusion program. all of the plasma physicists trained in the United ‘Energy Research Advisory Board, Review of the National Re- 4 States. This achievement is due largely to DOE’s search Council Report: Physics Through the 1990s, prepared by commitment to maintaining university fusion pro- the Physics Review Board for the U.S. Department of Energy, Feb- ruary 1987, p. 44. grams during a period when budget reductions ‘Ronald C. Davidson, “Overview of Magnetic Fusion Advisory have forced other agencies to curtail their fund- Committee Findings and Recommendations, ” presentation to ing of plasma physics research. In addition, DOE Energy Research Advisory Board Fusion Panel, Washington, DC, June 25, 1986. provides 37 fusion fellowships annually to qual- This list is drawn from three reports: U.S. Department of Energy, ified doctoral students. Office of Energy Research, Technology Spin-offs From the Magnet\c Fusion Energy Program, DOE/ER-01 32, May 1982; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy, Technology Spinoffs From the Jlbid., p. 97. Magnetic Fusion Energy Program, DOE/ER-01 32-1, February 1984; 4John F. Clarke, Director, DOE Office of Fusion Energy, P/asrna and U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, The Physics Within DOE and the Academy Report-Physics Through Fusion Connection, DOE/ER-0250, October 1985. For more infor- the 1990s, Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy, July 1986, mation about the role of these technologies and others in magnetic p. 5. fusion research, see ch. 4. Ch. 6.—Fusion as a Research Program . 133 Contributions to Industry magnetic fusion program in the development of neutral beams and accelerators for free electron Certain phenomena associated with fusion re- lasers have been instrumental to the development search have proven particularly applicable to the of directed-energy weapons necessary for SDI ap- development of electronic systems and industrial plications. manufacturing processes. Plasma etching is an important process in the semiconductor indus- try. Fusion research has provided information Contributions to Basic Science necessary to characterize and understand the Plasma physics is by now considered one of process more completely and also has contrib- the core areas of physics research. Advances uted plasma diagnostics that can be used to mon- made in the fusion program in the understand- itor the
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