Lawson criterion (redirected from Confinement time)

Lawson criterion

A necessary but not sufficient condition for the achievement of a net release of energy from nuclear fusion reactions in a fusion reactor. As originally formulated by J. D. Lawson, this condition simply stated that a minimum requirement for net energy release is that the fusion fuel charge must combust for at least enough time for the recovered fusion energy release to equal the sum of energy invested in heating that charge to fusion temperatures, plus other energy losses occurring during combustion. The Lawson criterion is to be thought of as only a rule of thumb for measuring fusion progress; detailed evaluation of all energy dissipative and energy recovery processes is required in order properly to evaluate any specific system. See Nuclear fusion