Laser-optical path to nuclear energy without radioactivity: Fusion of hydrogen–boron by nonlinear force driven plasma blocks

Anomalous interaction of terawatt-picosecond laser pulses allows side-on ignition of solid state density fusion fuel with the unexpected possibility of igniting uncompressed hydrogen–boron p-¹¹B. Suppression of relativistic self-focusing by using very clean laser pulses with an extremely high contrast ratio is essential to achieve ignition thresholds only ten times more difficult than fusion of deuterium–tritium (DT). This opens the possibility for laser driven fusion energy without neutrons and less radioactivity than from burning coal. The complex nonlinear optical properties involved are elaborated.