There currently exists a need for new techniques permitting the construction of power generating stations that are relatively small as compared with conventional reactor designs. For example, it is desirable that large-capacity power generating thermonuclear reactors be built in sizes of the order of 1000 times smaller than those possible with currently projected devices, to enable the utilization of these machines in spacecraft intended for deep space missions, or for utilization for marine propulsion. In these and other applications it may also be required to provide more direct conversion of thermonuclear energy to electrical energy than is available with conventional thermonuclear energy-converting apparatus.
For various additional reasons the present technology does not provide devices meeting the above criteria. Although heating plasma structures by magnetic mirror compression provides a basic solution, all previous attempts to do so have provided unsatisfactory results because the current methods involve heating a plasma ring that is moving with respect to the compression coils. This results in a very low coefficient of coupling and a very inefficient heating process. Furthermore, the rate of rise of the compression field in conventional devices must be very fast, requiring the use of expensive, complex, and bulky equipment.
Therefore there currently exists a need for more efficient and less expensive means for compressing and heating significant amounts of plasma in thermonuclear devices. There is also a need for a multi-unit reactor assembly which is easier to maintain in operation or replace parts than in the currently available reactor designs.
A typical background publication showing the present state of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,147, dated Jan. 10, 1978, to Daniel R. Wells.