Scientists tame damaging plasma instabilities in fusion facilities

Space Daily Aug 23, 2018 Before scientists can capture and recreate the fusion process that powers the sun and stars to produce virtually limitless energy on Earth, they must first learn to control the hot plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions. In a set of recent experiments, scientists have tamed a plasma instability in a … Read more

Higher plasma densities, more efficient tokamaks

Phys.org August 21, 2018, US Department of Energy The left figure shows a large, asymmetric magnetic island, which bulges on the inside (that is, the blue arrow is longer than the red), that can lead to a disruption and end a plasma discharge. The right figure shows the empirical scaling law of the density limit … Read more

Optimized quasi-optical cross-polarization scattering system for the measurement of magnetic turbulence on the DIII-D tokamak

Review of Scientific Instruments 89, 10H107 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5035427 T. L. Rhodes, R. Lantsov, G. Wang, R. Ellis, and W. A. Peebles Published Online: 23 August 2018 Accepted: June 2018 Abstract Simulations and laboratory tests are used to design and optimize a quasi-optical system for cross-polarization scattering (CPS) measurements of magnetic turbulence on the DIII-D tokamak. … Read more

Considerations of the q-profile control in KSTAR for advanced tokamak operation scenarios

Review of Scientific Instruments 89, 10D112 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5035126 J. Chunga, J. Ko, S.-H. Hahn, H. S. Kim, and S. J. Wang Published Online: 21 August 2018 Accepted: June 2018 Abstract The q-profile control is essential for tokamaks exploring the advanced tokamak scenarios, which is expected to be able to provide a possible route toward a … Read more

27 – ITER’s $23B Fusion Project to Provide Cheap, Virtually Free Energy for the World with Director-General Bernard Bigot

FringeFM August 24, 2018 Bernard Bigot is the Director-General of the ITER Organization (@iterorg), an international fusion science and technology research facility based in France. Bernard has been closely associated with ITER since France’s bid to host the project in 2003 and Mr Bigot was delegated by the French government to act as High Representative … Read more

Pushing the plasma density limit

MIT Paul Rivenberg | Plasma Science and Fusion Center | August 23, 2018 Seung Gyou Baek and his colleagues performed experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak to demonstrate how microwaves can be used to overcome barriers to steady-state fusion reactor operation. Photo: Paul Rivenberg/PSFC Plasma Science and Fusion Center researchers discover a path to overcoming … Read more

Allain wins ANS Fusion Energy Division Technical Accomplishment Award

NPRE Aug 20, 2018 | Susan Mumm JP Allain, Professor of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, has been selected for the 2018 Technical Accomplishment Award of the American Nuclear Society Fusion Energy Division (ANS FED). The first University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty member ever to have been chosen for this honor, Allain has been … Read more

Steady as she goes: Scientists tame damaging plasma instabilities and pave the way for efficient fusion on Earth

PPPL By John Greewald | August 21, 2018 (Photo by Greg Cunningham/General Atomics Energy Group ) PPPL physicist Raffi Nazikian, left, and General Atomics physicist Craig Petty in front of a model cross-section of the DIII-D tokamak Before scientists can capture and recreate the fusion process that powers the sun and stars to produce virtually … Read more

Crown of concrete and doors of steel at the ITER Tokamak complex

Fusion for Energy 20 August 2018 The Tokamak Complex, the Assembly Hall, the Cryoplant and Magnet Power Conversion buildings on the right. ITER Construction site, Cadarache, July 2018 © ITER IO As the temperatures rise in the south of France and we enter the summer hiatus, the activity in the region gradually slows down. On … Read more