Introduction to Plasma Physics with Fusion Energy

Scientists have been trying to replicate the same fusion reactions that drive stars on Earth since the beginning of the nuclear era. To create plasmas where light nuclei may overcome electrostatic repulsion and unleash enormous amounts of energy, hydrogen isotopes must be heated to hundreds of millions of degrees to achieve controlled nuclear fusion. There are now two primary approaches — inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), which uses intense lasers or particle beams to compress tiny fuel pe...