A quicker pace for magnetic fusion.

A quicker pace for magnetic fusion

For nearly 40 years, researchers in the United States and elsewhere have sought to harness the energy released when nuclei such as deuterium and tritium fuse. One approach -- magnetic-confinement fusion--requires strong magnetic fields to confine the hot fuel mixture. A new report from the National Academy of Sciences, "Pacing the U.S. Magnetic Fusion Program," contends the United States has fallen considerably behind European programs for magnetic-confinement fusion. It recommends a 20 percent increase in funding for the U.S. program, currently $360 million, to permit the construction and operation of the Compact Ignition Tokamak by the early 1990s. Despite years of effort, researchers have not yet successfully operated a system in which the energy output exceeds the energy required to get the fusion reactions going.