Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Evidence for stratification of deuterium-tritium fuel in inertial confinement fusion implosions
D T Casey1, J A Frenje, M Gatu Johnson
1Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Measurements of the D(d,p)T (dd) and T(t,2n)(4)He (tt) reaction yields have been compared with those of the D(t,n)(4)He (dt) reaction yield, using deuterium-tritium gas-filled inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions. In these experiments, carried out on the OMEGA laser, absolute spectral measurements of dd protons and tt neutrons were obtained. From these measurements, it was concluded that the dd yield is anomalously low and the tt yield is anomalously high relative to the dt yield, an observation that we conjecture to be caused by a stratification of the fuel in the implosion core. This effect may be present in ignition experiments planned on the National Ignition Facility.
Related Concept Videos
Nuclear Fusion
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together in the...
Nuclear Fission
¹H NMR of Labile Protons: Deuterium (²H) Substitution
