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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.
Qing Zhang, Peiyun Shi, Ming Liu, Munan Lin, Xuan Sun
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 68 | Number 1 | July 2015 | Pages 50-55
Technical Paper | Open Magnetic Systems 2014 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-866
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An electrode biasing system has been installed on the KMAX (Keda Mirror with AXisymmetricity) tandem mirror machine to control the rotation speed. It consists of a metal disk-type electrode and a concentric ring-shaped electrode. On each of them are 12 embedded single probes distributed uniformly in the azimuthal direction plus a single probe on the center. An adjustable power supply provides the biasing voltage from −1 kV to 1 kV, and a silicon controlled rectifier with rising time ~5 μs and maximum current up to 3000 A is used to switch on the circuit. While most of applied voltages are inevitably lost on the sheath as confirmed by the experiments, the plasma potentials have been found to change substantially.