Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham Announces Department of Energy 20-Year Science Facility Plan

Sets Priorities for 28 New, Major Science Research Facilities

WASHINGTON, DC - In a speech at the National Press Club today, U.S.Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham outlined the Department of Energy'sOffice of Science 20-year science facility plan, a roadmap for futurescientific facilities to support the department's basic science andresearch missions. The plan prioritizes new, major scientificfacilities and upgrades to current facilities.

The 28 facilities cover the range of science supported by the DOE'sOffice of Science, including fusion energy, materials science,biological and environmental science, high energy physics, nuclearphysics and advanced scientific computation.

Source: U.S. Department of EnergyContent: Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham Announces Department of Energy 20-Year Science Facility PlanDate Issued: 11/10/03

MORE

"This plan will be the cornerstone for the future of critical fields ofscience in America. These facilities will revolutionize science - andsociety," said Abraham. "With this plan our goal is to keep the United States at the scientific forefront.

"These facilities are needed to extend the frontiers of science, topursue opportunities of enormous importance, and to maintain U.S. science primacy in the world. Investment in these facilities will yield extraordinary scientific breakthroughs - and vital societal and economic benefits."

The Office of Science priority list for new facilities will help thedepartment plan its potential future scientific investments. The listidentifies 12 facilities as near-term priorities.

MORE

Priority one is ITER, an international collaboration to build the first fusion science experiment capable of producing a self-sustaining fusion reaction, called a "burning plasma." Priority two is an UltraScale Scientific Computing Capability, to be located at multiple sites, that would increase by a factor of 100 the computing capability available to support open scientific research.

Four facilities tied for Priority three: the Joint Dark Energy Mission, a space-based probe, being considered in partnership with NASA, designed to understand "dark energy" which makes up more than 70 percent of the universe; the Linac Coherent Light Source that would provide laser-like radiation 10 billion times greater in power and brightness than any existing x-ray light source; a Protein Production and Tags Facility that would mass produce and characterize tens of thousands of proteins per year; and the Rare Isotope Accelerator that would be the world's mostpowerful research facility dedicated to producing and exploring new rare isotopes not found naturally on earth. MORE

Six other facilities complete the near-term priorities. Eight facilities are identified as midterm priorities and eight as far-term priorities.

"This list of 28 facilities outlines to an important extent the future of science in America - and indeed the world," Abraham said. "These facilities cover the critical areas where discoveries can transform our energy future, boost economic productivity, transform our understanding of biology, and provide revolutionary new tools to deal with disease.

"They can make major and necessary contributions to national security - and give us the ability to understand matter at its most fundamental level."

"At each stage along the process of discovery, America's economy grows stronger, with new tools to improve human health, generate new industries, improve our everyday lives, or boost efficiency - the things that help give our nation its competitive edge," he added. "And we need science to maintain that competitive edge - especially in hightechnology, which every day becomes more central to our economy."

MORE

DOE's Office of Science prepared the list over the last year with input from the scientific community, DOE laboratories and advisory committees. In brief, Office of Science program managers first identified 46 facilities they believed are required for world scientific leadership over the next 20 years. Six independent advisory committees reviewed the facilities, recommended 53 facilities for construction and assessed each according to two criteria: scientific importance and readiness for construction. Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, director of the Office of Science, prioritized the facilities across the scientific disciplines.

While it is the department's intent to give priority to these facilities, many steps need to occur prior to deciding whether and when to propose construction. These include, long-term budget estimates, project research and development, conceptual design work, engineering design work and scientific reviews. In addition, potential funds for the facilities need to be identified within the President's budget priorities, and any proposed projects would obviously be subject to congressional approval.

MORE

A number of the facilities would be located at DOE national laboratoriesbecause they are upgrades to existing machines. The locations of theremaining facilities would be determined through site selections open tolaboratories and universities.

Throughout its history, DOE's Office of Science has designed,constructed and operated many of the nation's most advanced, large-scaleresearch and development user facilities, of importance to all areas ofscience. These state-of-the art facilities are shared with the sciencecommunity worldwide and contain technologies and instruments that areavailable nowhere else. Each year, these facilities are used by morethan 18,000 researchers from universities, other government agencies,private industry and foreign nations. The Spallation Neutron Source,scheduled to be completed in 2006, is the last, large-scale DOE userfacility under construction.

A document describing all 28 facilities and the prioritization process,Facilities for the Future of Science: A Twenty-Year Outlook, isavailable at www.sc.doe.gov

pHHH 2

3

11

2

11

2

1 Q=4.0 MeV

nHeHH 2

3

21

2

11

2

1 Q=3.3 MeV

nHeHH 2

4

22

3

11

2

1Q=17.6 MeV

This deuterium-tritium or D-T reaction is currentlythe reaction of choice in fusion reactor designs.

nHeHH 2

4

22

3

11

2

1Q=17.6 MeV

In the center of momentum frame, the 4He and n share the final energy with equal but opposite momenta:

nHem

p

m

pGeV

226.17

2

4

2

nHe

He

n

n mm

mQ

m

pT

4

4

2

2

Tn=14.1 MeV

SEAWATERMass

separator DEUTERIUM

Separator

TRITIUMFuelMixer

Heatexchanger

Coollithium

magnetic fieldor laser

Input power

Steam

(to turbines)

Hot lithium

2

3

12

4

23

6

3HHenLi

Water

(from condenser)

Neutrons

10

1

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-4

10-5

Assuming atemperatureregion ofT~107–108 Kis achievable

A hot, confined plasma of these nuclei should reaction at the rate

If each reaction gives an energy output Q, then the output (per unit volume of plasma) contained for seconds is

With Q = 17.6 MeV for D-T, a trapped plasma mix of deuterium andtritium at densities of n1 ~ n2 ~ 1021 m-3 would be able to output

vnnR21

where n1 and n2 are the ion densities and <v> is the transition probabilityi.e., the mean value (averaged over all particles) of the reaction cross-section times particle velocity.

QvnnW21

)6.17()10( 2321 MeVvmW

)6.17()10(/ 2321 MeVvmW

would be 3 x 108 W m-3 for 1 second confinement.

At T=108, deuteron kinetic energy~10keV

)6.17(103/1875

)10(2)10(/ 3

2

2321 MeVbcMeV

keVmW

Note that the energy required to heat the plasma is (n1 + n2)3kT/2 and for a net energy output this has to be less than the W above.

nkTQvn 32 Qv

kTn

3

or

For an operating temperature T = 1.2 x 108 K kT ~ 10 keV and the D-T reaction has <v > ~ 10-22 m3 s-1.

Thus n > 1020 s m-3 for power generation.

This estimate is called the Lawson criterion and sets the target for the design of fusion reactors.

A plasma at such temperatures would vaporize any material that it came into contact with.

Methods of containment have had to be devised.

The techniques under investigation are so far only able to confine the plasma for a short time.

Kristian Birkland’s theory of the aurora

experimented with electron beams and a phosphorous-painted globe of lodestone

Magnetic reflection

The pinching off of the fieldcreates a magnetc mirror

In the magnetic confinement the plasma is held, compressed and heated by electromagnetic fields. A promising system of this type is the Tokamak originally developed in Russia.

Joint European Torus

Confinement times achieved in these devices are of the order of one second

and the values of n are around 0.5 x 1020 s m-3.

The requirement on temperature (kT ~ 10 keV) means that the pellet will fly apart in about a nanosecond and in view of the Lawson criterion this implies that a particle density of 1029 m-3 has to be reached - an order of magnitude higher than is found in liquid hydrogen. To heat the pellet in such a short time means that the lasers must deliver an instantaneous power of 1014 W.

Application of laser to surface, creating a plasma

The technique of inertial confinement involves the heating and compression of a small pellet containing deuterium and tritium by means of intense laser pulses.

Rocket-like blast of gaseous surface material creating shockwaves that compress and heat interior

Initiation and continuation of fusion reaction in interior of capsule

The 192 laser beams will heat the inside surface of a hohlraum with high uniformity. (Credit LLNL)

National Ignition Facility

NOVA is a ten-beam, 50,000 joule laser used for ICF research. The target chamberis fabricated from aluminum, and supports the ten large final-optics assemblies which focus laser energy onto a variety of targets,including into hohlraums the size of grains of rice. Targets enter on a target-positioner arm from the top of the chamber, while a variety of instruments for observing target phenomena and capsule compression can be inserted through other small ports in the target chamber wall. (Photo credit: LLNL)