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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.
Russell A. Hulse
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 3 | Number 2 | March 1983 | Pages 259-272
Technical Paper | Special Section Content | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A20849
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The coupled partial differential equations used to describe the behavior of impurity ions in magnetically confined controlled fusion plasmas require numerical solution for cases of practical interest. Computer codes developed for impurity modeling at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are used as examples of the types of codes employed for this purpose. These codes solve for the density of ions in each charge state of the impurity and their associated radiation rates using atomic physics appropriate for these low-density high-temperature plasmas. The simpler codes solve local equations in zero spatial dimensions while more complex cases require codes that explicitly include transport of the impurity ions simultaneously with the atomic processes of ionization and recombination. Typical applications are discussed and computational results are presented for selected cases of interest.