A survey of the progress in laser thermonuclear fusion

Considerable progress has been made both in theoretical and experimental studies for laser fusion in the last years. Principal features of laser fusion seem to be sufficiently clear and no fundamental difficulty has been discovered. But still there are problems to be solved both in laser technology and physics. Further progress is cconnected with a construction of more powerful lasers. Now in a number of countries powerful lasers with energy 104 J are under construction. There is a hope that breakeven can be achieved in the near future, probably by 1980. (author)