Editing Fusion power (section)

=== Proton, boron-11 ===
Both material science problems and non-proliferation concerns are greatly diminished by [[aneutronic fusion]]. Theoretically, the most reactive aneutronic fuel is <sup>3</sup>He. However, obtaining reasonable quantities of <sup>3</sup>He implies large scale extraterrestrial mining on the Moon or in the atmosphere of Uranus or Saturn. Therefore, the most promising candidate fuel for such fusion is fusing the readily available protium (i.e. a [[proton]]) and [[boron]]. Their fusion releases no neutrons, but produces energetic charged alpha (helium) particles whose energy can directly be converted to electrical power:

:{{nuclide|Hydrogen}} + {{nuclide|Boron|11}} → 3 {{nuclide|Helium}}

Side reactions are likely to yield neutrons that carry only about 0.1% of the power,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Emerging nuclear energy systems 1989: proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems, Karlsruhe, F.R. Germany, July 3–6, 1989|date=1989|publisher=World Scientific |editor=von Möllendorff, Ulrich |editor2=Goel, Balbir |isbn=981-0200102|location=Singapore|oclc=20693180}}</ref><sup>:177–182</sup> which means that [[neutron scattering]] is not used for energy transfer and material activation is reduced several thousand-fold. The optimum temperature for this reaction of 123 keV<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Feldbacher|first1=Rainer|last2=Heindler|first2=Manfred|date=1988|title=Basic cross section data for aneutronic reactor |journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment|volume=271|issue=1|pages=55–64|doi=10.1016/0168-9002(88)91125-4|bibcode=1988NIMPA.271...55F|issn=0168-9002}}</ref> is nearly ten times higher than that for pure hydrogen reactions, and energy confinement must be 500 times better than that required for the D-T reaction. In addition, the [[power density]] is 2500 times lower than for D-T, although per unit mass of fuel, this is still considerably higher compared to fission reactors.

Because the confinement properties of the tokamak and laser pellet fusion are marginal, most proposals for aneutronic fusion are based on radically different confinement concepts, such as the [[Polywell]] and the [[Dense Plasma Focus]]. In 2013, a research team led by [[Christine Labaune]] at [[École Polytechnique]], reported a new fusion rate record for proton-boron fusion, with an estimated 80&nbsp;million fusion reactions during a 1.5 nanosecond laser fire, 100 times greater than reported in previous experiments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/40246-new-boron-method-nuclear-fusion.html|title=Nuclear Fusion: Laser-Beam Experiment Yields Exciting Results|website=LiveScience.com|date=October 8, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fusenet.eu/node/575|title=Record proton-boron fusion rate achieved – FuseNet|website=www.fusenet.eu|access-date=November 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202062802/http://www.fusenet.eu/node/575|archive-date=December 2, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>