FUSION-BURNING WAVES IGNITED BY CUMULATION JETS

A totally new target scheme to exploit fusion reactions is presented. It is based on the propagation of a heat-detonation wave across the fu el that reaches fusion temperatures before expanding. The wave is laun ched from a small region of the target where fusion ignition temperatu res are reached by the crash of cumulation jets. These jets are produc ed by a couple of hollow-charge conical liners placed close to the tar get. The collapse of each conical liner creates a dispersive supersoni c jet with a specific kinetic energy high enough to ignite the small r egion of the target where the fusion wave is created. The energy gain can be very high, although it depends on the maximum fusion yield allo wable in the reactor chamber.