A researcher at the Universidad politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has patented a nuclear fusion reactor by inertial confinement that, apart from be used to generate electric power in plants, can be applied to propel ships. Professor José Luis González Díez from the Higher Technical School of Naval Engineering of the UPM, has contributed to solve the problem of contamination risk associated with the generation of nuclear fission power by designing this new technology for ships. It is a fusion nuclear reactor by laser ignition of 1000 MWe that uses fuel hydrogen isotopes that can be extracted from water allowing us to save a suignificant amount of fuel. Nuclear fission is usually not preferred due to its high risk of contamination and radiation (as seen in Japan 2011) so we are now looking into nuclear fusion as an alternative. The prototype is a fusion reactor by inertial confinement, of total conversion of material into energy, whose fusion chamber can adapt to the type of fuel that wishes to be used, specially deuterium-tritium, deuterium- deuterium or hydrogen-hydrogen. Therefore, according to the fuel, the size of the chamber can be adapted as well as its shape, the outer and inner equipment, coolants, moderators, shields and equipment of ignition.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130114092555.htm
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