Work

Plasma Confinement Energy Bookkeeping: A Recount of the Lawson Criterion

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: A recomputation of the Lawson criterion for D-T fusion from its separate terms (alpha self-heating, bremsstrahlung, conduction via the energy confinement time), using the Bosch-Hale reactivity parametrisation. The uniform-plasma ignition minimum is 2.97e21 keV s m-3 at 14.3 keV; breakeven (Q=1) requires 4.68e20; profile and averaging conventions move the quoted threshold by up to a factor of about 44. The same bookkeeping applied to p-11B shows fusion power below bremsstrahlung at equal ion and electron temperatures throughout the 50-500 keV fit range, and a formal radiation-free minimum triple product 403 times the D-T ignition value. All numbers are generated by the deposited script compute.py (results in results.json).

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.24102278

Author: Aldred, William Alexander

Language: English

Topic: Magnetic confinement fusion research

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7225760587

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