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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.
Toshiro Kaneko, Yutaka Miyahara, Rikizo Hatakeyama, Noriyoshi Sato
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 1 | January 1999 | Pages 335-339
Poster Presentations | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963879
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The formation of a plasma potential is experimentally investigated in a fully-ionized collisionless plasma flow along converging magnetic-field lines in the presence of a single ECR point. When the ECR occurs in the region of converging region, the potential profile is observed to be drastically modified. The resultant potential structure consists of a negative potential dip and a subsequent positive potential hump working as a plasma-flow dike potential, which persists in the steady state when the ECR point is located in a region of good curvature of the magnetic configuration. However, this potential structure temporally collapses when the ECR point is located in a bad curvature region. The phenomenon is considered to be caused by low-frequency flute and drift instabilities.