Editing Fusion power (section)

== Advantages ==
Fusion power promises to provide more energy for a given weight of fuel than any fuel-consuming energy source currently in use.<ref>{{cite web |author=Heeter |first=Robert F. |display-authors=etal |title=Conventional Fusion FAQ Section 2/11 (Energy) Part 2/5 (Environmental) |url=http://fusedweb.llnl.gov/FAQ/section2-energy/part2-enviro.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010303051913/http://fusedweb.llnl.gov/FAQ/section2-energy/part2-enviro.txt |archive-date=March 3, 2001 |access-date=October 30, 2014 |publisher=Fused.web.llnl.gov}}</ref> The fuel (primarily [[deuterium]]) exists abundantly in the ocean: about 1 in 6500 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium.<ref>{{cite web |author=Stadermann |first=Frank J. |title=Relative Abundances of Stable Isotopes |url=http://presolar.wustl.edu/work/abundances.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720122226/http://presolar.wustl.edu/work/abundances.html |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |publisher=Laboratory for Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis}}</ref> Although this is only about 0.015%, seawater is plentiful and easy to access, implying that fusion could supply the world's energy needs for millions of years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ongena |first1=J. |last2=Van Oost |first2=G. |title=Energy for Future Centuries |url=http://www.agci.org/dB/PDFs/03S2_MMauel_SafeFusion%3F.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727135814/http://www.agci.org/dB/PDFs/03S2_MMauel_SafeFusion?.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |publisher=Laboratorium voor Plasmafysica – Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas Koninklijke Militaire School – École Royale Militaire; Laboratorium voor Natuurkunde, Universiteit Gent |pages=Section III.B. and Table VI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eps.org/about-us/position-papers/fusion-energy/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008001417/http://www.eps.org/about-us/position-papers/fusion-energy/|archive-date=October 8, 2008|title=The importance of European fusion energy research|publisher=The European Physical Society|author=EPS Executive Committee}}</ref>

First generation fusion plants are expected to use the deuterium-tritium fuel cycle. This will require the use of lithium for breeding of the tritium. It is not known for how long global lithium supplies will suffice to supply this need as well as those of the battery and metallurgical industries. It is expected that second generation plants will move on to the more formidable deuterium-deuterium reaction. The deuterium-helium-3 reaction is also of interest, but the light helium isotope is practically non-existent on Earth. It is thought to exist in useful quantities in the [[lunar regolith]], and is abundant in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets.

Fusion power could be used for so-called "deep space" propulsion within the [[Solar System]]<ref>{{Cite news|title=Space propulsion {{!}} Have fusion, will travel|url=http://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3303|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=ITER|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Holland|first=Andrew|date=June 15, 2021|title=Funding for Fusion for Space Propulsion|url=https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/post/fia-proposes-funding-for-fusion-for-space-propulsion|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=Fusion Industry Assn|language=en|archive-date=April 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420002956/https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/post/fia-proposes-funding-for-fusion-for-space-propulsion|url-status=dead}}</ref> and for [[interstellar space]] exploration where solar energy is not available, including via [[Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion|antimatter-fusion]] hybrid drives.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Schulze|first1=Norman R. |title=Fusion energy for space missions in the 21st century|last2=United States|last3=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|last4=Scientific and Technical Information Program|date=1991|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Management, Scientific and Technical Information Program; [For sale by the National Technical Information Service [distributor|location=Washington, DC; Springfield, Va.|language=en|oclc=27134218}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Principles of Fusion Energy Utilization in Space Propulsion|date=January 1, 1995|url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/5.9781600866357.0001.0046 |title=Fusion Energy in Space Propulsion|pages=1–46|series=Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics|publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics|doi=10.2514/5.9781600866357.0001.0046|isbn=978-1563471841|access-date=October 11, 2020 }}</ref>

===Helium production===
{{See also|Helium production in the United States}}
[[Deuterium–tritium fusion]] produces [[helium-4]] as a [[by-product]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsfusion-reactions|title=DOE Explains...Fusion Reactions|website=Energy.gov}}</ref>