The Release of Thermonuclear Energy by Inertial Confinement: Ways Towards Ignition, by Friedwardt Winterberg

The term ‘Inertial Confinement’ in the title refers to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) which is a proposed method to achieve nuclear fusion by a shock-like compression of some target, typically by use of highpower lasers. The subtitle of this book, ‘ways towards ignition’, describes best its basic outline as it gives a detailed account of concepts available for ignition of a thermonuclear reaction. A fundamental aspect of this is the so-called fissionless ignition, which would open the way to ‘clean’ thermonuclear reactions as well as to an almost freely scalable energy release. With fissionless triggering of a thermonuclear reaction, the socalled ‘tyranny of the critical mass’ as present in fission-triggered schemes (like in nuclear bombs) can be overcome, opening the way to very small thermonuclear devices with applications other than military, such as in mining or in rocket propulsion. Corresponding concepts like ignition by high-power lasers, by high-energy particles as accelerated by electromagnetic pulses and by chemical super-explosives are presented. Whereas thermonuclear reactions are typically discussed in terms of plasma properties and confinement, the focus here is on possibilities to achieve ignition. The details of thermonuclear ignition and burn need to be analysed in great detail when a high-power pulse ignition such as a fission reaction is absent. This book sets out to do just that, partly with focus on the underlying physics, partly with focus on engineering aspects and possible technical realisations. The author, Friedwardt Winterberg, has worked with Werner Heisenberg and received this Ph.D. there in 1955. He went to the United Stated on invitation in 1959 and is a professor of physics at the University of Nevada since 1963. He has done pioneering work on the field of fusion by inertial confinement. His concept of ‘clean’ fusion micro-explosions has lead to ideas about alternative rocket propulsion schemes as in the Daedalus research project. This book is a 400-page monograph, not a textbook, divided into 12 chapters: Nuclear Fission and Fusion Reactions, The Thermonuclear Plasma, Collision Processes in Thermonuclear Plasmas, Shock and CompressionWaves, Thermonuclear Ignition and Burn, Ignition by Fission Explosives, Non-Fission Ignition, Thermonuclear Lenses and Shaped Charges, The Significance of Thermonuclear Microexplosions for Fundamental Research, Recent Developments and The Future. There is a 20-page appendix entitled ‘Comparison of the Recently Proposed SuperMarx Generator Approach to Thermonuclear Ignition with the DT Laser FusionFission Hybrid Concept by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’, in which the current concepts for ignition by high-power laser irradiation and by highenergy particle irradiation are compared. The text is not fully referenced, but has end-ofchapter bibliographies with further reading. Numerous black-and-white figures mainly support the presentation of technical material. The underlying physics in discussed in detail, using all relevant equations. The text is clearly written and the material is presented in a way best accessible to advanced undergraduate physicists or engineers. The quality of the print, the paper and the making of the book are excellent. It can be recommended without constraint to anybody with an interest in the topic and a certain understanding of physics and engineering.