My Undergraduate Research Experience:
Inertial Fusion Energy (direct drive), Plasma Physics, and a Rockin’ Good Time

Brett Anderson `08
Physics Major

In this talk I will tell of my experience as an undergraduate doing research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.  My research focused on the conceptual design of a 2 GW direct drive Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) power reactor.  In particular, I worked on a system that could directly harness the power in the post detonation ion fields.  Conceptually, this can be accomplished by utilizing a magnetic cusp field to guide the ions into equatorial and polar ion dumps.  The ion fields resulting from this magnetic intervention configuration pose a distinct challenge, as their intensity may have the potential to damage the ion dumps.

One method of addressing this challenge is by employing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) conversion to transform the internal energy of the fields directly into electrical energy, a process that would also reduce the fields’ strength.  In order to analyze the potential of MHD conversion in IFE, results of previous work in other applications are examined in the context of this project.  Preliminary assessment reveals that MHD conversion is a promising solution to this issue, although a number of engineering and practical concerns will need to be addressed.