Three concepts for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactors are described and compared with each other, and with magnetic fusion and fission reactors on the basis of environmental impact, safety and efficiency. The critical technical developments of each concept are described. The three concepts represent alternative development paths for inertial fusion.

The marriage of induction linac technology with Nonlinear Magnetic Modulators has produced some unique capabilities. It appears possible to produce electron beams with average currents measured in amperes, at gradients exceeding 1 Mev/meter, and with power efficiencies approaching 50%. A 2 MeV, 5 kA electron accelerator is under construction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to allow us to demonstrate some of these concepts. Progress on this project is reported here.

LLNL is performing probabilistic reliability analyses of PWR and BWR reactor coolant piping for the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Specifically, LLNL is estimating the probability of a double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) in the reactor coolant loop piping in PWR plants, and in the main stream, feedwater, and recirculation piping of BWR plants. In estimating the probability of DEGB, LLNL considers two causes of pipe break: pipe fracture due to the growth of cracks at welded joints (direct DEGB), and pipe rupture indirectly caused by the seismically-induced failure of critical supports or equipment (indirect DEGB).

Distribution functions that are separable in energy and pitch angle allow analytical calculation of one or two velocity-space integrals that appear in the linear theory of certain microinstabilities.

Resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) is a natural outgrowth of RIS. The result of an RIS process is an ion pair. The electron can be used to detect the process, and single atom detection has been demonstrated by this method. The cation resulting from the RIS process actually carries more easily accessible and useful information (i.e. the mass of the ion). RIMS is useful in mass analysis. The development of RIMS has proceeded along several different directions, using CW or pulsed lasers, narrow or wide band laser energies, different kinds of sample generation, and different kinds of mass separations. RIMS in various forms can be used to obtain either element or isotope selectivity. Even though the RIMS technique has developed along several lines, several things are common to all approaches. Ultimately RIMS requires gaseous, free, atoms. RIMS makes use of the photoionization of these atoms by absorption of photons through allowed transitions involving real energy levels. The ion once formed is detected by standard mass spectrometric techniques.

This paper reports new results of nanosecond-resolution time-resolved optical reflectivity measurements, during pulsed excimer (KrF, 248 nm) laser irradiation of Si-implanted amorphous (a) silicon layers, which, together with model calculations and post-irradiation TEM measurements, have allowed us to study both the transformation of a-Si to a highly undercooled liquid (l) phase and the subsequent ultrarapid solidification process.