The fusion reactor of the british company First Light Fusion includes a device for firing electromagnetically accelerated projectiles. This is intended to generate sufficient pressure and heat for the fusion process. »In practice, the challenge is to perfect the shape and design of the target«, explains Paul Holligan, head of the launch facility.
Mimic a Pistol Shrimp
The inertial confinement fusion approach used here is an alternative to nuclear fusion and fusion by magnetic confinement. In nature, it only occurs in pistol shrimps. They snap shut their scissors so quickly that a cavitation bubble forms in the water. When it collapses, a shock wave and up to 5000 Kelvin heat are generated – enough for a plasma. The plasma is held by its own inertia. The pistol shrimp provided the model for the fusion reactor. However, the principle is implemented there with a much higher energy consumption of up to 2.5 million joules.
»We have a different approach than the other organizations that want to develop a fusion reactor,« says Holligan. "We don't use lasers or magnetic fields because it's very complicated and expensive.