Tokamak

The biggest tokamak to date is under construction in France.

Studies of electrodeless discharges in a strong longitudinal magnetic field, carried out on the stellarator and the "Tokamak", have shown that in such systems the plasma becomes unstable for currents appreciably les than the critical current of Shafranov-Kruskal.

A Tokamak engineering test reactor (TETR) will be an important component of any national or international program to achieve viable Tokamak fusion power reactors.

Of magnetic fusion experiments, those in Tokamaks are closest to achieving the combination of confinement conditions needed for a reactor.

Researchers use large doughnut-shaped vessels called tokomaks to try to achieve the critical temperature and density needed for fusion to begin. A tokomak uses powerful magnetic fields to contain hydrogen, which is heated to several million degrees. As the strength of the magnetic field increases, it squeezes the plasma, resulting in a higher temperature and density.

Slowly, the solenoid—all one thousand tons of it—will be carried to the tokamak and lowered into the center of the vacuum chamber.