ITER Magnets, Vessel, and Blanket
5 min read · Energy Atlas Editorial
ITER combines superconducting magnets, a massive vacuum vessel, a cryostat, and plasma-facing blankets.
Overview
Eighteen D-shaped toroidal field coils, a central solenoid, and poloidal coils sit inside a 30-metre-scale cryostat. The vacuum vessel is a double-walled torus. Blanket modules provide neutron shielding and will test tritium breeding. A tungsten divertor at the bottom intercepts exhaust. Neutral-beam and cyclotron systems heat the plasma. These systems must coexist: magnets near 4 kelvin, first wall at high temperature, vacuum in between.
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Questions
What is plasma?
Ionized gas: free charges that feel magnetic fields. Fusion research lives in this state of matter.