Encyclopedia
Articles
Long-form educational entries. Featured pieces sit on the homepage; this index is the full set.
fusion basics
Why it Works?
In small atoms, from hydrogen to sodium, the binding energy per nucleon increases with an increasing atomic number. This is because each additional nucleon is attracted by other nearby nucleons, and thus more tightly bound to the whole.
5 min read
fusion basics
How it Works?
In normal conditions, atom nuclei don't fuse spontaneously. The nucleus is positively charged and electrostatic forces will repel each other long before they come so close that strong nuclear forces can start to act and bind nuclei together.
5 min read
fusion basics
Fusion Fuel
All light elements and their isotopes could be used as a fusion fuel, but when talking about the use of nuclear fusion as source of energy and electricity, some types of fuel are more suitable than others.
5 min read
fusion basics
Fusion in Stars
The only functioning fusion reactor in our solar system is the Sun. Our central star, weighting 1,9 × 10´30 kg (more than 330,000 Earth masses) burns 500 million metric tons of hydrogen in its core every second at temperatures of about 15,7 million kelvin.
5 min read
fusion basics
Lawson Criterion
John D. Lawson wondered what conditions need to be fulfilled in order to get enough energy from a fusion reaction to use it in a power plant.
5 min read
fusion basics
Plasma
To enable thermonuclear fusion, the matter has to be heated to several million kelvin. But what will happen to such incredibly hot substances?
5 min read
fusion basics
How to Measure the Temperature in the Core of the Sun? or Diagnostics
Measuring the properties of something with extremely high temperatures like fusion plasma is difficult because every type of measuring device inserted into such a hostile environment will be instantly turned into plasma.
5 min read
tokamaks
Magnetic Confinement
Charged particles follow magnetic field lines. Tokamaks and stellarators twist those lines into a torus so plasma cannot leak out too quickly.
8 min read
tokamaks
Tokamaks
The word "tokamak" is of Russian origin and means "toroidal chamber and magnetic coils." This magnetic confinement system holds plasma in magnetic fields of toroidal shape. The first tokamak, the T-1, started operation in 1958 in Russia, and since then the greatest advances in th
16 min read
tokamaks
Material for Magnetic Coils
The word "tokamak" is of Russian origin and means "toroidal chamber and magnetic coils." This magnetic confinement system holds plasma in magnetic fields of toroidal shape. The first tokamak, the T-1, started operation in 1958 in Russia, and since then the greatest advances in th
5 min read
tokamaks
Divertor
The word "tokamak" is of Russian origin and means "toroidal chamber and magnetic coils." This magnetic confinement system holds plasma in magnetic fields of toroidal shape. The first tokamak, the T-1, started operation in 1958 in Russia, and since then the greatest advances in th
5 min read
tokamaks
External Heating
The word "tokamak" is of Russian origin and means "toroidal chamber and magnetic coils." This magnetic confinement system holds plasma in magnetic fields of toroidal shape. The first tokamak, the T-1, started operation in 1958 in Russia, and since then the greatest advances in th
5 min read
tokamaks
Most Important Tokamaks in the World
The word "tokamak" is of Russian origin and means "toroidal chamber and magnetic coils." This magnetic confinement system holds plasma in magnetic fields of toroidal shape. The first tokamak, the T-1, started operation in 1958 in Russia, and since then the greatest advances in th
12 min read
stellarators
Stellarators
Stellarators are "generators of stellar energy", and their principle was discovered before tokamaks. A helical-twisted magnetic field, necessary for successful plasma confinement, is generated only by magnetic coils of various shapes. The stellarator is a device capable of contin
14 min read
stellarators
Most Important Stellarators in the World
Wendelstein 7-X + Large Helical Device + Helically Symmetric eXperiment
8 min read
inertial
Inertial Confinement Fusion
The inertial confinement fusion principle attempts to compress a small deuterium-tritium pellet to the density and temperature required for fusion ignition in its center. The reaction will then take place before the pellet remnants are blown apart, so the fusion plasma is held…
16 min read
iter
The Next Step on the Way Toward a Thermonuclear Fusion Power Plant
In the beginning of the 20th century, the potential energy of the atom was discovered.
3 min read
iter
ITER Magnets, Vessel, and Blanket
ITER combines superconducting magnets, a massive vacuum vessel, a cryostat, and plasma-facing blankets.
5 min read
fusion history
A Short History of Fusion Research
From 1920s stellar physics to tokamaks, stellarators, lasers, and ITER — fusion research is a century of unfinished engineering.
8 min read
fusion plants
Toward a Fusion Power Plant
A fusion power plant would need tritium breeding, materials that survive neutrons, and a thermal cycle — none of which is demonstrated as a complete system.
5 min read
fusion basics
Fusion: Key Ideas
A compact recap of fuels, confinement, ITER, and what remains unsolved.
5 min read
fusion basics
Artificial Fusion Principles
The Lawson criterion gives essentially two ways how to harness an effective fusion reaction.
5 min read
iter
Main Parameters
The ITER is an experimental device designed to demonstrate the possibility of harnessing energy from thermonuclear fusion.
3 min read
iter
Timeline
From 1985 to 2050 ...
3 min read
iter
Record Breakers
Being the largest tokamak ever built, the ITER is a record holder in many ways.
3 min read
iter
Magnets
The ITER magnet system will be the largest and most integrated superconducting magnet system ever built. It will produce magnetic fields that will initiate, confine, shape and control the ITER plasma.
5 min read
iter
Vacuum Vessel
Plasma will be held inside a steel torus called a vacuum vessel. It was proven that the bigger the plasma volume, the better the confinement, so the ITER vacuum vessel will be really big.
3 min read
iter
Blanket
Blanket protects vacuum vessel from harsh conditions provided by fusion plasma. Because the vessel cannot be replaced, any damage to it will incur would cause termination of experiments.
3 min read
iter
Divertor
For a successful fusion reaction only the presence of fuel (deuterium and tritium in the case of ITER) in the plasma core is needed; all other particles, whether impurities or helium ash, are unwanted and need to be diverted away from the plasma, because they could cause energ…
3 min read
iter
Cryostat
During ITER operation the 150 million kelvin hot plasma core will be just a few meters away from only 4 Kelvin cold toroidal magnetic coils.
3 min read
iter
Tritium Production
The ITER machine will be the first thermonuclear reactor fully designed to operate with deuterium-tritium fusion reaction.
4 min read
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Cooling
Tokamak ITER operation would not be possible without several types of cooling methods, because heat generated by fusion must be discarded.
3 min read
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Diagnostics
The main goal of the ITER is not to just create fusion plasma but to get as much information about such plasma as possible.
4 min read
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External Heating
Successful deuterium-tritium fusion reaction requires 150 million Kelvin, a temperature that is not easy to reach.
3 min read
iter
The ITER Site
The ITER 180-hectare site is located near Saint Paul-lez-Durance, southern France.
3 min read
iter
Disruptions and Instabilities
Plasma never behaves calmly and shortly after its creation begins to show an assortment of instabilities.
3 min read