Project Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Project Sherwood was the codename for a United States
program in controlled nuclear fusion
. It was funded under the Atoms for Peace
initiative during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
. The name Sherwood was suggested by Paul McDaniel, Deputy Director of the Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC), as a play on the fact that funding for research at a facility known as the Hood Building was “robbed to pay Friar Tuck”, a reference to the British physicist and fusion researcher James L. Tuck.
The program was a secret but nonmilitary spin off of work begun in Project Matterhorn where the goal of fusion reactors had been to generate neutrons for converting uranium to plutonium and to provide a source of tritium for thermonuclear weapons. But the prospect of turning cheap and inexhaustible hydrogen into inexpensive power captured the imagination of Lewis Strauss, the AEC chairman from 1953 to 1958, who believed fusion reactors could generate electricity “too cheap to meter
”. Under Strauss the program was reorganized and its funding and staffing increased dramatically. At its peak Project Sherwood had a budget of $23 million per year and retained more than 500 scientists.
Research initially centered on three plasma confinement designs; the stellarator
headed by Lyman Spitzer
at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
, the toroidal pinch or "Perhapsatron
" led by James Tuck at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the "magnetic mirror
" devices at the Livermore National Laboratory.
By June, 1954 a preliminary study had been completed for a full scale "Model D" stellarator that would be over 500 feet long and produce 5,000 MW of electricity at a capital cost of $209 per kilowatt.
However, each concept would encounter unanticipated problems in the form of plasma instabilities that prevented the requisite temperatures and pressures from being achieved and it eventually became clear sustained hydrogen fusion would not be quickly developed. Strauss left AEC in 1958 and his successor did not share Strauss' enthusiasm for fusion research. Consequently, Project Sherwood was relegated from a crash program to one that concentrated on basic research.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
program in controlled nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
. It was funded under the Atoms for Peace
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953....
initiative during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. The name Sherwood was suggested by Paul McDaniel, Deputy Director of the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
(AEC), as a play on the fact that funding for research at a facility known as the Hood Building was “robbed to pay Friar Tuck”, a reference to the British physicist and fusion researcher James L. Tuck.
The program was a secret but nonmilitary spin off of work begun in Project Matterhorn where the goal of fusion reactors had been to generate neutrons for converting uranium to plutonium and to provide a source of tritium for thermonuclear weapons. But the prospect of turning cheap and inexhaustible hydrogen into inexpensive power captured the imagination of Lewis Strauss, the AEC chairman from 1953 to 1958, who believed fusion reactors could generate electricity “too cheap to meter
Too cheap to meter
Too cheap to meter describes a concept in which a commodity is so inexpensive that it is more cost-effective and less bureaucratic to simply provide it for a flat fee or even free and make a profit from associated services....
”. Under Strauss the program was reorganized and its funding and staffing increased dramatically. At its peak Project Sherwood had a budget of $23 million per year and retained more than 500 scientists.
Research initially centered on three plasma confinement designs; the stellarator
Stellarator
A stellarator is a device used to confine a hot plasma with magnetic fields in order to sustain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction. It is one of the earliest controlled fusion devices, first invented by Lyman Spitzer in 1950 and built the next year at what later became the Princeton Plasma...
headed by Lyman Spitzer
Lyman Spitzer
Lyman Strong Spitzer, Jr. was an American theoretical physicist and astronomer best known for his research in star formation, plasma physics, and in 1946, for conceiving the idea of telescopes operating in outer space...
at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science located on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an...
, the toroidal pinch or "Perhapsatron
Perhapsatron
The Perhapsatron was an early fusion power device based on the pinch concept. Dreamt up by James Tuck while working at Los Alamos National Laboratory , he named the device whimsically on the off chance that it might be able to create fusion reactions.The first example was built in the winter of...
" led by James Tuck at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the "magnetic mirror
Magnetic mirror
A magnetic mirror is a magnetic field configuration where the field strength changes when moving along a field line. The mirror effect results in a tendency for charged particles to bounce back from the high field region....
" devices at the Livermore National Laboratory.
By June, 1954 a preliminary study had been completed for a full scale "Model D" stellarator that would be over 500 feet long and produce 5,000 MW of electricity at a capital cost of $209 per kilowatt.
However, each concept would encounter unanticipated problems in the form of plasma instabilities that prevented the requisite temperatures and pressures from being achieved and it eventually became clear sustained hydrogen fusion would not be quickly developed. Strauss left AEC in 1958 and his successor did not share Strauss' enthusiasm for fusion research. Consequently, Project Sherwood was relegated from a crash program to one that concentrated on basic research.