PPPL finds a more efficient route to fusion ignition

Physicists at the DOE's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have proposed an expanded version of the Lawson criterion: heating plasma before compressing it could sharply cut the energy needed for ignition. The work was published in Physical Review Letters.

• Expanded Lawson criterion adds four factors affecting fusion performance
• Key waypoint is the Cordey saddle near Q = 5
• Reversing heating and compression order lowers energy needs
• Findings apply to both tokamaks and stellarators