Search results

The paper's aim is to suggest a new micro‐thermonuclear reactor for aerospace.

Methods of the thermonuclear physics are used for the research.

The result is new micro‐thermonuclear reactor with very small fuel pellet that uses plasma confinement generated by multi‐reflection of laser beam or its own magnetic field. The Lawson criterion increases by hundreds of times. The author also suggests a new method of heating the power‐making fuel pellet by outer electric current as well as new direct method of transformation of ion kinetic energy into harvestable electricity. These offered innovations dramatically decrease the size, weight and cost of thermonuclear reactor, installation, propulsion system and electric generator.

The author is researching the efficiency of these innovations for two types of the micro‐thermonuclear reactors: multi‐reflection reactor (inertial confinement fusion) and self‐magnetic reactor (magnetic confinement fusion).

The author offers several innovations. Results may be used for the design of thermonuclear aerospace engines, propulsion and electric generators.

The Joint European Torus (JET) is the flagship for European Fusion Research. This study seeks to address the issue of the need for remote handling in the process of recreating nuclear fusion as a limitless source of clean energy.

Describes in detail the JET remote handling system with its “man in the loop” approach providing the operator with “remote hands” inside the JET Torus.

Finds that the increase in requirement for remote operations has necessitated rationalization of task procedures and their associated paper work.

This paper opens the gates for increasing productivity, broadening the scope of remote handling procedures, increasing operating loads and reducing downtime.

The purpose of this study is to measure the quality of nuclear science and technology research using the scientometric indicators, like activity index, attractivity index and publication efficiency index.

The present scientometric study is based on the bibliographic data extracted from the core collection of the Web of Science database from 1989 to 2019. The data was collected using the advanced search feature, with a search string of 28 related terms. The bibliographic data for all the journal articles, excluding all other formats, was downloaded for statistical analysis.

The present study highlights the growth pattern and the research efforts devoted to the field of nuclear science and technology worldwide, as reflected through the Core Collection of the Web of Science database, for 31 years from 1989 to 2019. The USA has emerged as the topmost producer, with a total share of almost 29% with respect to the world literature followed by Japan, Germany, France and UK. However, the relative citation impact has been the highest for Netherlands followed by the USA, Germany, France and UK, respectively. The study depicted that the activity index, also called as the relative performance indicator, has been the highest for the USA, whereas the attractivity index has been the highest for China, indicating its dominance in attracting citations to its publications in the field of nuclear science and technology. The publication efficiency index, the value has been the maximum for Iran, for which the value has been greater than 1 (1.618). The measure suggests that Iran’s research effectiveness in the field of nuclear science and technology has been more than the research effort devoted to the field.

The paper was based on the data retrieved from a single database, and the results may vary across other databases. Hence, caution should be taken while generalizing the findings.

Several scientometric studies have taken place in the field of nuclear science and technology, particularly in its allied branches, but none of the studies has focused on evaluating the research efforts carried out by the countries in terms of activity index, attractivity index and publication efficiency index, and the present study is an attempt to fill the gap.

The identification of plasma parameters from different sets of measurements is a key topic in the thermonuclear fusion research. Most of the information relevant to the plasma shape and position control is usually gained via external magnetic measurements, but information related to internal distribution of current density is not accessible in this way. Other possible measurements are available. In this paper a performance analysis is done with respect to the adoption of polarimetric measurements.

The equivalent currents method has proven to be particularly effective in the identification of plasma boundary in Tokamak fusion devices. Anyway, the ill‐posedness of the mathematical model to be inverted calls for the adoption of suitable regularization techniques to be adopted, in particular to reduce the influence of the measurement errors. In this paper the equivalent currents method is illustrated, together with some details on its application to the plasma identification. In addition, two algorithms for the optimal choice of the representation basis are presented, together with a discussion about the obtained numerical results.

This paper aims to suggest a new thermonuclear space propulsion and electric generator for aerospace.

Methods of thermonuclear physics are used for research.

The paper applies, develops and researches mini‐sized Micro‐AB thermonuclear reactors for space propulsion and space power systems. These small engines directly convert the high‐speed charged particles produced in the thermonuclear reactor into vehicle thrust or vehicle electricity with maximum efficiency. The simplest AB‐thermonuclear propulsion offered allows spaceships to reach speeds of 20,000‐50,000 km/s (1/6 of light speed) for fuel ratio 0.1 and produces a huge amount of useful electric energy. The offered propulsion system permits flight to any planet of the solar system in a short time and to the nearest non‐Sun stars by E‐being or intellectual robots during a single human life period.

Technical limitations may be apparent.

The theory of this propulsion and electric generator is developed and possibilities researched.

‘A central research photography unit, incorporating an information centre should be established to conduct research and development on the techniques of scientific photography, and to encourage the use of these techniques in industry and the universities by rendering technical assistance and consultancy services….’

This paper aims to examine the intensifying efforts by China and the West to harness the clean, limitless energy of nuclear fusion. However, it argues that this “holy grail” of a fusion future is only achievable through an optimal combination of mission-oriented public–private cooperation and genuine intergovernmental cooperation.

This study deploys a case-study approach, augmented by relevant literature, to analyse the advances in fusion technology.

Despite purported recent advances in fusion technology, these advances remain largely “proof of concept” experiments rather than commercially viable technologies that enable us to truly harness the infinite power of these “artificial suns”. To achieve the moonshot goal of delivering practicable “net energy gain” from fusion power, this study advocates shedding hubristic political “one-upmanship” amongst rival governments. Further, it urges focussing the ingenuity, along with the financial and scientific resources of all stakeholders (both public and private) across the globe to bring about this “fusion dawn”. Moreover, efforts to deliver fusion power face significant competition from other clean energy sources (wind, solar power and nuclear fission reactors) that are not only technically far less challenging but also economically more viable with their declining cost structures.

This study is possibly one of the few social science papers that examines the prospect of clean, limitless fusion power along with the challenges it faces and its societal implications.

This research assesses the economic impact of biomass plant installations on Brazilian municipalities, focusing on (1) labor income, (2) sectoral labor income and (3) income inequality.

Municipal data from the Annual Social Information Report, the National Electric Energy Agency and the National Institute of Meteorology spanning 2002 to 2020 are utilized. The Synthetic Difference-in-Differences methodology is employed for empirical analysis, and robustness checks are conducted using the Doubly Robust Difference in Differences and the Double/Debiased Machine Learning methods.

The findings reveal that biomass plant installations lead to an average annual increase of approximately R$688.00 in formal workers' wages and reduce formal income inequality, with notable benefits observed for workers in the industry and agriculture sectors. The robustness tests support and validate the primary results, highlighting the positive implications of renewable energy integration on economic development in the studied municipalities.

This article represents a groundbreaking contribution to the existing literature as it pioneers the identification of the impact of biomass plant installation on formal employment income and local economic development in Brazil. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to uncover such effects. Moreover, the authors comprehensively examine sectoral implications and formal income inequality.