Basic requirements of laser fusion power production and laser fusion-fission plutonium breeding

Required values of thermonuclear energy-gain, inertial confinement, laser-pulse energy and power for both electric power production by laser-fusion and for plutonium breeding by laser fusion-fission are obtained from simple considerations, and are tabulated for purposes of comparison. It is found that breeder requirements are very significantly less demanding, suggesting that plutonium breeding is a much more feasible near-term goal of laser fusion