NRC Survey on Plasma Physics and Fluids Fusion Plasma Confinement and Heating. Chapter 8: Inertial Confinement Fusion.

A survey of inertial confinement fusion research is presented current issues are emphasized. The inertial confinement approach to fusion is based on compressing thermonuclear fuel to extremely high density, and heating it to temperatures high enough that the fuel ignites and burns before the compressed mass has time to disassemble. Inertial confinement research also has many other applications related to the physics of high energy density. The irradiation of plasmas by intense laser light allows the stud of many nonlinear processes with applications throughout plasma physics. The generation of pressures of tens to hundreds of megabars 1 megabar equals a million atmospheres allows the investigation of matter under very high pressures. The generation of highly ionized matter and of intense short pulses of X-rays allows the study of atomic physics of importance in the development of X-ray lasers.