Timeline of nuclear fusion 190878 224248986 2008-07-08T00:06:06Z Headbomb 1461430 <sup>2</sup> '''Timeline of significant events in the study and use of [[nuclear fusion]]:''' *[[1929]] - [[Robert d'Escourt Atkinson|Atkinson]] and [[Fritz Houtermans|Houtermans]] used the measured masses of low mass elements and applied [[Albert Einstein|Einstein's]] discovery that E=mc<sup>2</sup> to predict that large amounts of energy could be released by [[nuclear fusion|fusing]] small nuclei together. *[[1932]] - [[Mark Oliphant]] discovered [[helium 3]] and [[tritium]], and that heavy [[hydrogen]] nuclei could be made to react with each other. *[[1939]] - [[Hans Bethe]] won the [[Nobel Prize in physics]] (awarded 1967) "for his contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially his discoveries concerning the energy production in stars." [[Image:IvyMike2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ivy Mike]], the first hydrogen bomb, in 1952.]] *[[1941]] - [[Enrico Fermi]] proposed the idea of using a (still hypothetical) fission weapon to initiate nuclear fusion in a mass of hydrogen to [[Edward Teller]]. Teller became enthusiastic about the idea and worked on it (unsuccessfully) throughout the [[Manhattan Project]]. *[[1947]] First kiloampere [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] created by a team at the [[Imperial College]], [[London]], in a doughnut shaped glass vacuum vessel. Plasmas are entirely unstable and only last fractions of seconds. *[[1951]] - A press release from [[Argentina]] claims that their [[Huemul Project]] had produced controlled nuclear fusion. This prompted a wave of responses in other countries, especially the U.S. **[[Lyman Spitzer]] started the [[Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory]] (or PPPL) which was originally codenamed Project Matterhorn - most early work was done on a type of magnetic confinement device called a [[stellarator]]. **[[James L. Tuck]], an English physicist, began research at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] (LANL) under the codename of [[Project Sherwood]], working on pinch magnetic confinement devices. (Some people claimed that the project was named Sherwood based on Friar Tuck. This claim is corroborated in a brief biographical sketch written by Tuck <ref>...the first money to be allocated [to controlled nuclear research] happened to be for Tuck, and was diverted from Project Lincoln, in the Hood Laboratory. The coincidence of names prompted the well-known cover name "Project Sherwood". James L. Tuck, [http://bayesrules.net/JamesTuckVitaeAndBiography.pdf "Curriculum Vita and Autobiography,"] Declassified document from Los Alamos National Laboratory (1974), reproduced with permission. </ref>) *1951 - [[Edward Teller]] and [[Stanislaw Ulam]] at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] develop the [[Teller-Ulam design]] for the [[hydrogen bomb]], allowing for the development of multi-megaton weapons. *[[1952]] - Cousins and Ware built a small toroidal [[Pinch (plasma physics)|pinch]] device in [[England]], and demonstrated that instabilities in the plasma make pinch devices inherently unstable. [[Image:The zeta fusion device.jpg|thumb|right|275px|1954-1958: The [[Z-pinch|ZETA]] -Zero Energy Toroidal (or Thermonuclear) Assembly device at Harwell]] *1952, [[Ivy Mike]] shot of [[Operation Ivy]]: The first detonation of a [[hydrogen bomb]], yield 10.4 megatons of TNT out of a fusion fuel of liquid deuterium. *[[1953]] - pinch devices in the US and USSR attempted to take the reactions to fusion levels without worrying about stability. Both reported detections of [[neutron]]s, which were later explained as non-fusion in nature. *[[1954]] - [[Z-pinch|ZETA]] device started operation at Harwell south of [[Oxford]] in England. *[[1958]] - [[United States|American]], [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[USSR|Soviet]] scientists began to share previously classified fusion research, as their countries declassified controlled fusion work as part of the [[Atoms for Peace]] conference in [[Geneva]] *[[1958]] - ZETA experiments ended. Several firings produced neutron spikes that the researchers initially attributed to fusion, but later realized were due to other effects. Last few firings showed an odd "quiet period" of long stability in a system that otherwise appeared to prove itself unstable. Research on pinch machines generally died off as ZETA appeared to be the best that could be done. *[[1961]] - The [[Soviet Union]] test the most powerful [[hydrogen bomb]], the [[Tsar Bomba]] (50 megatons). *[[1965]] (approximate) - The 12 beam "4 pi laser" using ruby as the lasing medium is developed at LLNL includes a gas-filled target chamber of about 20 centimeters in diameter. *[[1967]] - Demonstration of [[Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor]] appeared to generate neutrons in a nuclear reaction. *[[1968]] - Results from the T-3 Soviet magnetic confinement device, called a [[tokamak]], which [[Igor Tamm]] and [[Andrei Sakharov]] had been working on - showed the temperatures in their machine to be over an order of magnitude higher than what was expected by the rest of the community. The Western scientists visited the experiment and verified the high temperatures and confinement, sparking a wave of optimism for the prospects of the tokamak, which is still the dominant magnetic confinement device today, as well as construction of new experiments. *[[1972]] - The first neodymium-[[Doping (semiconductor)|doped]] glass (Nd:glass) laser for ICF research, the "[[Long Path laser]]" is completed at LLNL and is capable of delivering ~50 joules to a fusion target. *[[1974]] - Taylor re-visited ZETA results of 1958 and explained that the quiet-period was in fact very interesting. This led to the development of "reversed field pinch", now generalized as "self-organizing plasmas", an ongoing line of research. ** Construction completes and [[inertial confinement fusion]] experiments begin on the two beam [[Janus laser]] at the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]]. *[[1975]] - Experiments commence on the single beam LLNL [[Cyclops laser]], testing new optical designs for future ICF lasers. *[[1976]] - Design work on [[Joint European Torus|JET]], the Joint European Torus, began. ** The two beam [[Argus laser]] is completed at LLNL and experiments involving more advanced laser-target interactions are begun. *[[1977]] - The 20 beam [[Shiva laser]] at LLNL is completed and is capable of delivering 10.2 kilojoules of infrared energy on target. At a price of $25 million and a size approaching that of a football field, the Shiva laser is the first of the "megalasers" at LLNL and brings the field of ICF research fully within the realm of "[[big science]]". *[[1978]] - The [[Joint European Torus|JET]] project was given the go-ahead by then [[European Commission|EC]]. The chosen site was an ex-[[Royal Air Force|RAF]] airfield south east of [[Oxford]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]. [[Image:IFE laser parameter space.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Progress in power and energy levels attainable by inertial confinement lasers has increased dramatically since the early 1970's.]] *[[1982]] - [[Tore Supra]] construction was started at [[Cadarache]], [[France]]. Its [[superconductivity|superconducting]] magnets permitted it to generate a strong permanent toroidal magnetic field. [http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm] *[[1983]] - [[Joint European Torus|JET]] was completed on time and on budget. First plasmas achieved. **The [[NOVETTE laser]] at LLNL comes on line and is used as a test bed for the next generation of ICF lasers, specifically the [[NOVA laser]]. *[[1984]] - The huge 10 beam [[NOVA laser]] at LLNL is completed and switches on in December. NOVA would ultimately produce a maximum of 120 kilojoules of infrared laser light during a nanosecond pulse in a 1989 experiment. *[[1985]] - The [[Japan]]ese tokamak, [[JT-60]] was completed. First plasmas achieved. *[[1988]] - The [[T-15]], Soviet tokamak with superconducting helium-cooled coils was completed. *[[1988]] - The Conceptual Design Activity for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ([[ITER]]), the successor to [[T-15]], [[TFTR]], [[Joint European Torus|JET]] and [[JT-60]], began. Participants were [[EURATOM]], [[Japan]], [[Soviet Union]] and [[United States]]. It ended in [[1990]]. *[[1988]] - The first plasma was produced in [[Tore Supra]] in April. [http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm] *[[1989]] - On March 23, two [[Utah]] electrochemists, [[Stanley Pons]] and [[Martin Fleischmann]], announced that they had achieved [[cold fusion]]: fusion reactions which could occur at room temperatures. However, they made their announcements before any peer review of their work was performed, and no subsequent experiments by other researchers revealed any evidence of fusion. *[[1990]] - Decision to construct the [[National Ignition Facility|NIF]] "beamlet" laser at LLNL is made. *[[1991]] - The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] Tokamak fusion experiment began in [[Culham]]. The experiment would eventually achieve a record [[Plasma physics#Dimensionless|beta]] (plasma pressure compared to magnetic field pressure) of 40% using a [[neutral beam injector]]. It was the first design that adapted the conventional toroidal fusion experiments into a tighter spherical design. *[[1992]] - The Engineering Design Activity for the [[ITER]] began. Participants were [[EURATOM]], [[Japan]], [[Russia]] and [[United States]]. It ended in [[2001]]. *[[1993]] - The [[TFTR]] tokamak at [[Princeton University|Princeton]] (PPPL) experimented with 50% [[deuterium]], 50% [[tritium]], eventually producing as much as 10 megawatts of power from a controlled fusion reaction. *[[1994]] - NIF Beamlet laser is complete and begins experiments validating the expected performance of NIF. *[[1996]] - A record was reached at [[Tore Supra]]: a plasma duration of two minutes with a current of almost 1 million amperes driven non-inductively by 2.3 MW of [[Lower hybrid oscillation|lower hybrid frequency waves]] (i.e. 280 MJ of injected and extracted energy). This result was possible due to the actively cooled plasma-facing components installed in the machine. This result opened the way to the active control of steady state plasma discharges and the associated physics. [http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm] *[[1997]] - The [[Joint European Torus|JET]] tokamak in the UK produced 16 MW of fusion power - the current world record for fusion power. Four megawatts of [[alpha particle]] self-heating was achieved. **Groundbreaking ceremony held for the [[National Ignition Facility]] (NIF). **Combining a field-reversed pinch with an imploding magnetic cylinder resulted in the new Magnetized Target Fusion concept in the [[United States|U.S.]]. In this system a "normal" lower density plasma device was explosively squeezed using techniques developed for high-speed gun research. *[[1998]] - The [[JT-60]] tokamak in Japan produced a high performance reversed shear plasma with the equivalent fusion amplification factor <math>Q_{eq}</math> of 1.25 - the current world record of [[Fusion energy gain factor|Q]]. *[[1999]] - The [[United States]] withdrew from the [[ITER]] project. **The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] Experiment was succeeded by [[Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak|MAST]]. *[[2001]] - Building construction for the immense 192 beam 500 terawatt [[National Ignition Facility|NIF]] project is completed and construction of laser beamlines and target bay diagnostics commences. The [[National Ignition Facility|NIF]] is expected to take its first full system shot in 2010. **Negotiations Meeting on the Joint Implementation of [[ITER]] begins. Participants were [[Canada]], [[European Union]], [[Japan]] and [[Russia]]. *[[2002]] - Claims and counter-claims were published regarding [[bubble fusion]], in which a table-top apparatus was reported as producing small-scale fusion in a liquid undergoing [[acoustic cavitation]]. Like cold fusion, it was later dismissed. **[[European Union]] proposed [[Cadarache]] in [[France]] and [[Vandellos]] in [[Spain]] as candidate sites for [[ITER]] while [[Japan]] proposed [[Rokkasho]]. *[[2003]] - The [[United States]] rejoined the [[ITER]] project, and [[China]] and [[Republic of Korea]] newly joined while [[Canada]] withdrew. *[[2003]] - [[Cadarache]] in [[France]] selected as the European Candidate Site for [[ITER]]. **[[Sandia National Laboratories]] began fusion experiments in the [[Z machine]]. *[[2004]] - The [[United States]] dropped its own project, the Fusion Ignition Research Experiment ([[Fusion Ignition Research Experiment|FIRE]]), to focus resources on [[ITER]]. *[[2005]] - Following final negotiations between the EU and Japan, [[ITER]] chose [[Cadarache]] over [[Rokkasho]] for the site of the reactor. In concession, Japan was made the host site for a related materials research facility and was granted rights to fill 20% of the project's research posts while providing 10% of the funding. **The [[national ignition facility|NIF]] fires its first bundle of 8 beams achieving the highest ever energy laser pulse of 152.8 kJ (infrared). *[[2006]] - China's [[EAST]] test reactor is completed, the first tokamak experiment to use superconducting magnets to generate both the toroidal and poloidal fields. *Construction of [[ITER]] was originally planned to start at the end of 2005, but will probably be delayed until 2008. ==Notes== {{reflist}} {{fusion power}} ==External links== *[http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/fusion/famous.asp Fusion experiments from the British Science Museum] *International Fusion Research Council, [http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/0029-5515/45/10A Status report on fusion research], ''Nuclear Fusion'' '''45''':10A, October 2005. [[Category:Physics timelines|Nuclear Fusion]] [[Category:Technology timelines|Nuclear Fusion]] [[Category:Nuclear fusion]]