AI and Nuclear Fusion Vol.2: Ignition, Burn Physics & Power Balance

AI and Nuclear Fusion Vol.2: Ignition, Burn Physics & Power Balance Series: "Thinking Seriously About Nuclear Fusion with AI" Volume 2 of 9 | Target: Policy, Investment, and Engineering Decision-Makers Author: Dosanko Tousan | AI Partner: Claude (Anthropic) License: MIT Document Classification Item Detail Purpose Derive the complete power balance of a fusion reactor from first principles; establish quantitative ignition criteria for all candidate fuels; assess proximity of current experiments to ignition Audience Government policy advisors, energy investment analysts, fusion program managers, aerospace propulsion engineers Prerequisites Vol.1 of this series (nuclear reaction physics, confinement fundamentals). All derivations self-contained. Scope Power balance → Lawson criterion → Ignition vs breakeven → Alpha heating → Burning plasma → Radiation losses → Fuel-specific analysis → Experimental status → Propulsion implications Deliverables (1) Complete Lawson derivation, (2) Power balan