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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
C. C. Petty
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 2 | October 2005 | Pages 978-987
Technical Paper | DIII-D Tokamak - Achieving Reactor Quality Plasma Confinement | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A1053
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A comprehensive series of dimensionless parameter scaling experiments has been undertaken in the DIII-D tokamak with the goals of guiding turbulent transport theories and predicting confinement in future devices. These studies have measured the dependences of transport on the relative gyroradius, beta, collisionality, safety factor, cross-section shape, and ratio of ion to electron temperature. The results from these experiments, which are mainly in favor of drift wave turbulent transport, point to a favorable path for increasing the fusion performance in burning plasma devices.