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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.
R. Koch
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 33 | Number 2 | March 1998 | Pages 207-218
Plasma Heating and Current Drive | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11947011
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The additional heating and non-inductive current-drive methods are reviewed. First, the limitations of ohmic heating in tokamaks are examined and the motivations for using additional heating in tokamaks or other machines are discussed. Next we sketch the principles of heating by injection of fast neutrals - or Neutral Beam Injection (NBI). The principle of the injector is briefly outlined. Positive and negative ion based concepts are discussed. The remainder of the lecture focuses on the processes by which the beam transfers energy to the plasma: the ionisation and slowing-down processes. Next, I make a review of the different heating schemes based on the transfer of electromagnetic energy to the plasma. The different wave heating frequency ranges are listed and the propagation and damping peculiarities are sketched in each domain. Heating in the Alfvén and lower hybrid wave domains are described in some more details.