Fusion
Stellarator
A magnetic-confinement device whose helical field is produced entirely by external coils.
Labelled system
Explore in 3D
Original ENERGY ATLAS schematic. Interactive 3D is opt-in on this page.
Non-planar coils that set both toroidal and poloidal field components.
Overview
Stellarators do not rely on a large plasma current to twist the magnetic field. Complex three-dimensional coils create the rotational transform. That enables, in principle, steady-state operation without transformer pulses and reduces some current-driven instabilities.
How it works
Modular or helical coils wrap a toroidal vacuum vessel. Plasma is heated by beams and microwaves. Divertors or island divertors handle exhaust. Coil complexity is the engineering price of the physics advantage.
Components
Modular coils
Non-planar coils that set both toroidal and poloidal field components.
Vacuum vessel
Follows the twisted plasma shape.
Divertor
Intercepts outflowing plasma in three-dimensional geometry.
Cryostat
Houses superconducting coils in large modern devices.
Keep exploring
Articles
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
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