Energy Encyclopedia
Lesson 03 of 612 min

Construction and Working Principle of Stellarator

The idea of a stellarator is based on the premise that plasma can be held in the reaction space by means of a special helically wound magnetic field that is generated exclusively by magnetic coils of various shapes.

The idea of stellarators as “stellar power generators” came about even before tokamaks were discovered. It was based on the premise that the plasma can be held in the reaction space by means of a specially shaped, helically wound magnetic field that is generated exclusively by magnetic coils of various shapes. Keeping the plasma without electric current flowing through itallows the stellarator to operate in a steady state. From the first figure eight shaped stellarators, through to the oval shape, the development has recently been moving towards stellarators with a toroidal chamber shape with an additional winding that provides the necessary magnetic twist.

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