596 



other possibilities at a lower level of effort. Japan is developing 

 the same four concepts, and Europe is developing the stellar ator and 

 reversed-f ield pinch. The development of each concept proceeds 

 through a sequence of steps from small "exploratory" experiments 

 through "intermediate" experiments to larger "scientific feasibility" 

 experiments. In recent years the United States has retreated somewhat 

 from this procedure, making it more difficult for a concept to advance 

 to the next step or even to continue. 



The United States should consult with Japan and the EC on 

 cooperation in the development of alternative concepts. This 

 cooperation could take two forms: (1) coordination in specifying the 

 design parameters and experimental programs for intermediate 

 experiments in each country so as to enhance their complementarity and 

 (2) distribution of the responsibility among the three parties for 

 constructing and operating scientific feasibility experiments as 

 national projects in which the other party or parties would 

 participate as junior partner (s). 



INCENTIVES FOR AN INCREASED LEVEL OF 

 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 



The U.S. program has benefited from the the prior international 

 cooperation described above in two quite different ways: resources 

 were available to support effort beyond what could be supported in the 

 United States alone, and novel and unique foreign contributions have 

 influenced the U.S. program technically. One example of financial 

 benefit is the Japanese contribution to the U.S. Doublet III tokamak, 

 which allowed the additional heating equipment to be installed that 

 led to the achievement of record plasma parameters. A prime example 

 of technical benefit is found in the invention of the tokamak 

 confinement concept in the USSR. As a consequence, all four major 

 programs have advanced more rapidly and with better direction than 

 would have been the case without cooperation. Similar benefits may 

 reasonably be expected from future cooperation. 



Greatly increased resources are required to maintain the breadth 

 and depth of the national fusion programs while moving forward to 

 explore a burning plasma in a major next-step experiment and to 

 develop fusion technology. There seems to be an increasing body of 

 opinion among responsible leaders in government and in the fusion 

 programs in the United States, the EC, Japan, and the USSR that a 

 cooperative international pooling of national resources may be 

 required in the present economic environment. Such pooling would 

 allow sharing of the increase in costs otherwise required of each 

 separate program. The JET project is a good example of how national 

 programs can be maintained at the same time that national resources 

 are pooled for an international project. 



