Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2009
Tritium self-heats at a rate of 97 W/mole because of its β activity. This energy drives preferential sublimation of solid T2 or DT from regions where a layer is thicker and warmer to regions where the layer is thinner and colder. A frozen tritium layer inside an isothermal container approaches isotropy exponentially with a time constant as short as 14.4 minutes. Targets Isotropized by Radioactively Induced Sublimation (IRIS) and sized for an ICF reactor demonstrate high gain and offer real fabrication advantages.