Energy Encyclopedia

Glossary

Defined terms

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All lettersABCDEFGHIJKLMNPRSTUVWY
All domainsFusionNuclearSolarWindHydroGeothermalBiomassHydrogenElectricityStorage

B

B

Binding energy

Energy that holds a nucleus together.

B

Blanket

Plasma-facing modules that capture neutrons and heat.

B

Breakeven

When fusion power matches heating power.

B

Bremsstrahlung

Radiation from decelerating charged particles.

C

C

Central solenoid

Transformer coil on a tokamak axis.

C

Cryostat

Vacuum vessel that thermally insulates cold magnets.

D

D

D–T fusion

Fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei.

D

Deuterium

Hydrogen isotope with one neutron.

D

Divertor

Exhaust system at the plasma edge.

E

E

ELM

Edge localised mode in tokamak plasmas.

F

F

First wall

Plasma-facing surface of a fusion vessel.

F

Fusion

Joining of light nuclei.

F

Fusion gain Q

Ratio of fusion power to heating power.

H

H

Helias

Modular stellarator configuration.

H

Hohlraum

Cavity that converts laser light to X-rays.

I

I

Ignition

Self-heating fusion plasma.

I

Inertial confinement

Compressing fusion fuel faster than it can fly apart.

I

Ion cyclotron heating

RF heating at the ion cyclotron frequency.

I

Island divertor

Stellarator exhaust using magnetic islands.

I

ITER

International tokamak under construction in France.

J

J

Joule heating

Heating by electrical resistance.

L

L

Larmor radius

Gyroradius of a charged particle.

L

Lawson criterion

Condition on density, temperature, and confinement time.

L

Lithium

Light metal used to breed tritium.

M

M

Magnetic coil

Winding that produces a magnetic field.

M

Magnetic confinement

Using magnetic fields to hold plasma.

M

Modular coils

Discrete non-planar stellarator coils.

N

N

Neutral beam injection

Heating plasma with energetic neutrals.

P

P

Plasma

Ionized gas of charged particles.

P

Poloidal field

Magnetic field the short way around a torus.

S

S

Stellarator

Magnetic fusion device with 3D external coils.

S

Superconductor

Material with zero DC resistance below a critical temperature.

T

T

Tesla

SI unit of magnetic flux density.

T

Tokamak

Toroidal magnetic fusion device using plasma current.

T

Toroidal field

Magnetic field the long way around a torus.

T

Tritium

Radioactive hydrogen isotope with two neutrons.

T

Tritium breeding

Making tritium from lithium in a fusion blanket.

V

V

Vacuum vessel

Chamber that holds fusion plasma in vacuum.