How nuclear fusion works (3) - magnetic confinement, tokamaks, stellarators
Channel: Improbable Matter
Date: 2022-07-11

A look at the magnetic approach to achieving controlled thermonuclear fusion as a viable energy source.

Contents
00:00 - Introduction
00:27 - Particles in a magnetic field
02:52 - Magnetohydrodynamics
04:05 - Turbulence
04:45 - Recap
05:19 - Z-pinch
07:25 - Magnetic mirror
09:02 - Toroidal machines
11:48 - Heating
14:34 - Current
16:00 - Shaping
18:31 - H-mode
20:19 - Disruptions
21:15 - Machine walls
22:24 - Stellarators
23:03 - Wrap-up

References
[1] The first high-speed colour video from the COMPASS tokamak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhHsOwLdCu4
[2] J. P. Freidberg, “Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy” (CUP 2010).
[3] T. F. Neiser et al., “Gyrokinetic GENE simulations of DIII-D near-edge L-mode plasmas” Physics of Plasmas 26, 092510 (2019).
[4] S. J. Zweben et al., “Edge turbulence velocity preceding the L-H transition in NSTX” Physics of Plasmas 28, 032304 (2021)
[5] Magnetic turbulence by Giannandrea Inchingolo (User:Giannandrea_Inchingolo)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnetic_turbulence.jpg
[6] D. D. Ryutov et al., “Magneto-hydrodynamically stable axisymmetric mirrors” Physics of Plasmas 18, 092301 (2011).
[7] T. Sunn Pedersen et al., “Confirmation of the topology of the Wendelstein 7-X magnetic field to better than 1:100,000” Nature Communications 7:13493 (2016).
[8] N. J. Fisch, “The Alpha Channeling Effect” AIP Conference Proceedings 1689, 020001 (2015).
[9] B. Dudson, Magnetic Confinement Fusion Lectures
https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~bd512/teaching/mcf.html
[10] The interior of Alcator C-Mod as seen from B port by Chris Bolin
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alcator_C-Mod_Fisheye_from_Bport.jpg
[11] Plasma test in the MAST experiment at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy by user Dobbin74
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ProjectPixels_Plasma.jpg
[12] Video of MAST discharge 15872, UKAEA
[13] D. G. Whyte et al., “I-mode: an H-mode energy confinement regime with L-mode particle transport in Alcator C-Mod” Nuclear Fusion 50, 105005 (2010).
[14] J. Degrave et al., “Magnetic control of tokamak plasmas through deep reinforcement learning” Nature 602, 414 (2022).
[15] M. Rubel et al., “Application of Ion Beam Analysis in Studies of First Wall Materials in Controlled Fusion Devices” Physics 4, 37 (2022).
[16] V. E. Moiseenko, “First experiments on ICRF discharge generation by a W7-X-like antenna in the Uragan-2M stellarator” Journal of Plasma Physics 86, 905860517 (2020).
[17] Image of ASDEX Upgrade https://www.ipp.mpg.de/5035491/01_21