ABSTRACT
In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) (Lindl 1998), thermonuclear reactions are induced by compressing the fuel dynamically, through an implosion. This leads to the high compressions and temperatures necessary for nuclear fusion reactions to occur, transiently before the compressed material re-expands. “Laboratory” fusion experiments using lasers to implode the fuel are energylimited, which means that relatively high implosion convergence ratios – i.e., the ratio of initial to imploded radius – are needed to induce reactions. Implosions are unstable with respect to azimuthal variations in the drive or the material response, so great care is needed to assure adequate symmetry.
