Patent Number: 051981815
Section: claims

1. In a thermonuclear fusion reactor of the type which heats a plasma and confines the plasma in a substantially toroidal shaped volume disposed in a plane, the improvement comprising: conductive coils disposed adjacent said plasma and being shaped to produce a magnetic field which passes through said plasma when a current is applied thereto; and  means for applying a current to said conductive coils such that the flux density (B) of their magnetic field as it passes through the plasma is less than 10.sup.-10 gauss and satisfies the equation m.sub.1 c.sup.2 =Bvl coulomb, where m.sub.1 is the mass of a particle in the plasma, c is the velocity of light, v is the mean orbital velocity of the earth about the sun, and l is the circumference of the toroidal shaped plasma. 2. The thermonuclear fusion reactor as recited in claim 1 which includes second conductive coils disposed adjacent said plasma and being shaped to produce a magnetic field which passes through said plasma when current is applied thereto, and second means for applying a current to said second conductive coils such that the flux density (B) of the magnetic field produced by said second conductive coils as it passes through said plasma is less than 10.sup.-10 gauss and satisfies the equation m.sub.2 c.sup.2 =Bvl coulomb, where m.sub.2 is the mass of a second particle in the plasma. 3. The thermonuclear fusion reactor as recited in claim 1 in which said conductive coils are poloidal coils. 4. The thermonuclear fusion reactor as recited in claim 2 in which said conductive coils are poloidal coils disposed to one side of said toroidal plasma and said second conductive coils are poloidal coils disposed to the other side of said toroidal plasma. 5. The thermonuclear fusion reactor as recited in claim 1 in which the magnetic field produced by the conductive coils passes through the plasma substantially perpendicular to said plane. 6. The thermonuclear fusion reactor as recited in claim 2 in which the magnetic fields produced by the conductive coils and the second conductive coils pass through said plasma substantially perpendicular to said plane.