Editing Fusion power (section)

=== Heating ===
{{Main|Dielectric heating|Magnetic reconnection|Inertial electrostatic confinement|Neutral beam injection}}

* Electrostatic heating: an electric field can do [[work (thermodynamics)|work]] on charged ions or electrons, heating them.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miley, George H. |title=Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion : fundamentals and applications|date=2013|publisher=Springer|others=Murali, S. Krupakar|isbn=978-1461493389|location=Dordrecht|oclc=878605320}}</ref>
* [[Neutral-beam injection|Neutral beam injection]]: hydrogen is ionized and accelerated by an electric field to form a charged beam that is shone through a source of neutral hydrogen gas towards the plasma which itself is ionized and contained by a magnetic field. Some of the intermediate hydrogen gas is accelerated towards the plasma by collisions with the charged beam while remaining neutral: this neutral beam is thus unaffected by the magnetic field and so reaches the plasma. Once inside the plasma the neutral beam transmits energy to the plasma by collisions which ionize it and allow it to be contained by the magnetic field, thereby both heating and refueling the reactor in one operation. The remainder of the charged beam is diverted by magnetic fields onto cooled beam dumps.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kunkel |first=W. B. |title=Fusion |publisher=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |year=1981 |isbn=978-0126852417 |editor-last=Teller |editor-first=E. |chapter=Neutral-beam injection}}</ref>
* Radio frequency heating: a radio wave causes the plasma to oscillate (i.e., [[microwave oven]]). This is also known as [[electron cyclotron resonance heating]], using for example [[gyrotron]]s, or [[dielectric heating]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Erckmann|first1=V|last2=Gasparino|first2=U|date=December 1, 1994|title=Electron cyclotron resonance heating and current drive in toroidal fusion plasmas|url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0741-3335/36/12/001|journal=Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion|volume=36|issue=12|pages=1869–1962|bibcode=1994PPCF...36.1869E|doi=10.1088/0741-3335/36/12/001|s2cid=250897078|issn=0741-3335}}</ref>
* [[Magnetic reconnection]]: when plasma gets dense, its electromagnetic properties can change, which can lead to [[magnetic reconnection]]. Reconnection helps fusion because it instantly dumps energy into a plasma, heating it quickly. Up to 45% of the magnetic field energy can heat the ions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ono|first1=Y.|last2=Tanabe|first2=H.|last3=Yamada|first3=T.|last4=Gi|first4=K.|last5=Watanabe|first5=T.|last6=Ii|first6=T.|last7=Gryaznevich|first7=M.|last8=Scannell|first8=R.|last9=Conway|first9=N.|last10=Crowley|first10=B.|last11=Michael|first11=C.|date=May 1, 2015|title=High power heating of magnetic reconnection in merging tokamak experiments|url=https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4920944|journal=Physics of Plasmas|volume=22|issue=5|pages=055708|bibcode=2015PhPl...22e5708O|doi=10.1063/1.4920944|issn=1070-664X|hdl=1885/28549|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yamada|first1=M.|last2=Chen|first2=L.-J.|last3=Yoo|first3=J.|last4=Wang|first4=S.|last5=Fox|first5=W.|last6=Jara-Almonte|first6=J.|last7=Ji|first7=H.|last8=Daughton|first8=W.|last9=Le|first9=A.|last10=Burch|first10=J.|last11=Giles|first11=B.|date=December 6, 2018|title=The two-fluid dynamics and energetics of the asymmetric magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas|url= |journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=5223|bibcode=2018NatCo...9.5223Y|doi=10.1038/s41467-018-07680-2|issn=2041-1723|pmc=6283883|pmid=30523290}}</ref>
* Magnetic oscillations: varying electric currents can be supplied to magnetic coils that heat plasma confined within a magnetic wall.<ref>McGuire, Thomas. Heating Plasma for Fusion Power Using Magnetic Field Oscillations. Baker Botts LLP, assignee. Issued: 4/2/14, Patent 14/243,447. N.d. Print.</ref>
* Antiproton annihilation: [[antiproton]]s injected into a mass of fusion fuel can induce thermonuclear reactions. This possibility as a method of spacecraft propulsion, known as [[antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion]], was investigated at [[Pennsylvania State University]] in connection with the proposed [[AIMStar]] project.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}