ABSTRACT
At the present time, nuclear fission reactors are the only practical devices for producing large amounts of electrical power from nuclear energy. However, the potentially immense source of energy available through nuclear fusion has motivated much research to develop a practical fusion reactor. Today the first fusion device is being constructed that is expected to produce more fusion energy than is required to operate the reactor. Although it will be many decades from now before fusion reactors generate commercial electricity, the promise of almost limitless energy justifies the present large research effort devoted to this energy source. In this chapter, we review some of the basic physics, history, and devices being contemplated for converting fusion energy to electricity.
