Energy Amplifier Systems as Sustainable Nuclear Reactors: An Overview

One of the present major issues for industrialised societies is the environmental impact of energy production. Nuclear power is identified as a possible sustainable opportunity to provide a technological answer to this problem. This review aims to overview the physical bases of accelerator driven systems, focusing on spallation and transmutation phenomena. A discussion on the possible use of these nuclear devices is developed in the context of sustainable energy production, showing a possible new approach to nuclear energy, based on the developments of accelerator physics and technology during the last century.