^91 



Consideration of the above points in the broader context of the 

 status and prospects for magnetic fusion development led the committee 

 to an overall conclusion: 



o For the United States in the years ahead, a program including 

 increased international collaboration is preferable to a 

 predominantly domestic program, which would have to command 

 substantial additional resources for the competitive pursuit of 

 fusion energy development or run the risk of forfeiture of 

 equality with other world programs . 



Having concluded that large-scale international collaboration is 

 the preferable course, the committee makes two recommendations for 

 getting started: 



o The first priority should be the establishment of a clear set 

 of policies and objectives and a considered program plan for 

 future U.S. fusion activities . 



o Having carried out the preceding recommendation, the United 

 States should take the lead in consulting with prospective 

 partners to initiate a joint planning effort aimed at 

 large-scale collaboration. 



THE WORLD'S MAJOR MAGNETIC FUSION PROGRAMS 



Major magnetic fusion programs are conductea in four areas of the 

 world — the United States, the European Community (EC) , Japan, and the 

 Soviet Union. The four magnetic fusion programs are of comparable 

 magnitude and are at a comparable stage of development. In each of 

 these programs a "scientific feasibility" experiment based on the most 

 advanced magnetic confinement concept — the tokamak — either has 

 recently started operation (in the United States and the EC) or will 

 start operation within the next one or two years (in Japan and the 

 USSR, respectively) . Smaller fusion programs are carried out in 

 several other countries. 



Broadly speaking, the near-term technical objectives of program 

 planners in the four programs are similar: (1) to maintain a vigorous 

 scientific base program, (2) to initiate a major next-step tokamak 

 experiment, (3) to continue to develop the less mature alternative 

 magnetic confinement concepts, and (4) to expand the fusion tecnnology 

 development program. Pursuit of these objectives is financially 

 constrained, to varying degrees, in each of the four programs. 



The physics of laboratory plasmas near fusion conditions is 

 primarily an experimental science today. World leadership in fusion 

 generally resides in that country possessing the experimental 

 facilities with the greatest capability to explore the frontiers of 

 plasma physics. 



