Energy balance for a pulsed D-T reactor

The energy flow per pulse of a D-T reactor is considered, including effects of radial and temporal variations of plasma density and temperature. The overall of the cycle will probably be less than twenty per cent, because of the inefficiency of coupling electrical energy into plasma thermal energy. This low overall efficiency and the spatial and temporal effects lead to required products of density and confinement time which are significantly higher than those obtained ignoring these effects.