Abstract
It is shown that energy from a powerful laser or relativistic electron beam can be cumulated within a hydrogen-filled cavity and which subsequently explodes. If this hydrogen-filled cavity is placed inside a second egg-shaped cavity, the explosion shock wave can be transformed into an implosion wave by the shock reflection from the curved wall of the egg-shaped cavity. The method may permit the ignition of thermonuclear microexplosions with relatively long laser or electron beam pulses of high efficiency. The method also promises a better coupling of the beam energy to the target than in the ablation-driven implosion scheme to laser or electron beam fusion.