Intro -- Preface -- Author biography -- Richard A Dunlap -- Chapter 1 Energy for the future -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Current world energy use -- 1.3 Future energy needs -- 1.4 Fossil fuel resources -- Reserves-to-production ratios -- The Hubbert model -- 1.5 Environmental aspects of fossil fuel use -- Greenhouse gas emissions -- Global warming -- Glacial extent -- Polar ice masses -- Sea ice extent anomaly -- Sea level rise -- 1.6 Future energy sources I-renewable energy -- Solar energy -- Wind energy -- Hydroelectric energy -- Geothermal energy -- Biofuels -- 1.7 Future energy sources II-nuclear energy -- Nuclear fission energy -- Nuclear fusion energy -- 1.8 Analysis of future energy options -- Energy form -- Longevity -- Available power -- Consistency of power -- Cost -- Environmental impact and risk -- Summary of future energy options -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 2 Energy from the nucleus -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Nuclear composition -- 2.3 Nuclear binding energy -- 2.4 Energy from nuclear fission -- Thermal neutron reactors -- Fast breeder reactors -- 2.5 Energy from nuclear fusion -- Fusion reactions for power reactors -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 3 The early history of nuclear fusion -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 An historical overview of solar properties -- The mass of the Sun -- The composition of the Sun -- 3.3 Darwin's dilemma -- The age of the Earth -- The age of the Sun -- 3.4 Early developments in nuclear physics -- Radioactive decay -- Einstein's mass-energy relation -- Aston's nuclear mass measurements -- Development of quantum theory -- Early nuclear theories -- Discovery of the neutron -- Beta decay -- 3.5 Stellar fusion processes -- 3.6 Laboratory fusion -- The discovery of laboratory fusion -- Early concepts in controlled nuclear fusion.

3.7 Thermonuclear weapons -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 4 Magnetic confinement fusion -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Achieving fusion conditions -- Ignition -- The Lawson criterion -- Breakeven -- The triple product -- Reactor energy gain -- 4.3 Some basic plasma physics -- General characteristics of plasmas -- Plasma properties -- Classification of plasmas -- Magnetized plasmas -- 4.4 Tokamaks -- Early history of the tokamak -- Basic physics of the tokamak -- Tokamak technology -- Some notable tokamaks -- 4.5 Stellarators -- Basics of stellarators -- Recent stellarator experiments -- 4.6 Future directions for magnetic confinement fusion -- Summary of progress in magnetic confinement fusion -- Moore's law -- DEMO and PROTO -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 5 Inertial confinement fusion -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Lasers -- History of the laser -- The physics of lasers -- CO2 lasers -- Nd-glass lasers -- KrF lasers -- Harmonic generation -- 5.3 The physics of laser fusion -- Basic principles of laser fusion -- Instabilities -- Direct drive -- Indirect drive -- Fusion criteria -- Advanced ignition schemes -- 5.4 Overview of some CO2 laser fusion experiments -- Helios -- Antares -- 5.5 Overview of some Nd laser fusion experiments -- Nd-based laser experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- Nd-based laser experiments at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) -- Laser Mégajoule -- 5.6 Overview of some KrF laser fusion experiments -- Nike -- Electra -- 5.7 Future directions in inertial confinement fusion research -- Progress in laser fusion -- Future approaches for laser fusion -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 6 Other approaches to fusion -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Electrostatic confinement -- The fusor -- The polywell -- 6.3 Accelerator based fusion.

Beam-target fusion -- Beam-beam fusion -- Muon-catalyzed fusion -- Heavy ion drivers -- 6.4 Hybrid fusion-fission -- 6.5 Some new approaches to magnetic confinement -- Magneto-inertial fusion -- Field reversed configuration -- 6.6 z-Pinch machines -- 6.7 Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) -- 6.8 Cold fusion -- The Fleischmann-Pons experiment -- Ongoing cold fusion experiments -- 6.9 Sonofusion -- 6.10 The energy catalyzer -- 6.11 Summary -- References and suggestions for further reading -- Chapter 7 Is fusion useful? -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Electricity generation -- Thermal generation -- Direct energy conversion -- 7.3 Environmental and safety considerations -- Reactor safety considerations -- Radioactive waste -- Neutron activation -- Radiation damage -- Cooling requirements -- Security considerations -- 7.4 Fusion resources -- d-t Fusion resources -- d-d Fusion resources -- Resources for other fusion reactions -- Helium resources -- 7.5 Economic factors -- 7.6 Scientific and technical challenges of fusion energy -- Magnetic confinement fusion -- Inertial confinement fusion -- Other fusion approaches -- 7.7 The future of nuclear fusion energy -- References and suggestions for further reading.