Plasma And Fusion Science

In this new book, an interdisciplinary and international team of experts provides an exploration of the emerging plasma science that is poised to make the plasma technology a reality in the manufacturing sector. The research presented here will stimulate new ideas, methods, and applications in the field of plasma science and nanotechnology. Plasma technology applications are being developed that could impact the global market for power, electronics, mineral, and other fuel commodities. Currently, plasma science is described as a revolutionary discipline in terms of its possible impact on industrial applications. It offers potential solutions to many problems using emerging techniques. In this book the authors provide a broad overview of recent trends in field plasma science and nanotechnology. Divided into several parts, Plasma and Fusion Science: From Fundamental Research to Technological Applications explores some basic plasma applications and research, space and atmospheric plasma, nuclear fusion, and laser plasma and industrial applications of plasma. A wide variety of cutting-edge topics are covered, including: • basic plasma physics • computer modeling for plasma • exotic plasma (including dusty plasma) • industrial plasma applications • laser plasma • nuclear fusion technology • plasma diagnostics • plasma processing • pulsed power • space astrophysical plasma • plasma and nanotechnology Pointing to current and possible future developments in plasma science and technology, the diverse research presented here will be valuable for researchers, scientists, industry professionals, and others involved in the revolutionary field of plasma and fusion science.

There has been an increase in interest worldwide in fusion research over the last decade and a half due to the recognition that a large number of new, environmentally attractive, sustainable energy sources will be needed to meet ever increasing demand for electrical energy. Based on a series of course notes from graduate courses in plasma physics and fusion energy at MIT, the text begins with an overview of world energy needs, current methods of energy generation, and the potential role that fusion may play in the future. It covers energy issues such as the production of fusion power, power balance, the design of a simple fusion reactor and the basic plasma physics issues faced by the developers of fusion power. This book is suitable for graduate students and researchers working in applied physics and nuclear engineering. A large number of problems accumulated over two decades of teaching are included to aid understanding.

Resulting from ongoing, international research into fusion processes, the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a major step in the quest for a new energy source.The first graduate-level text to cover the details of ITER, Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics introduces various aspects and issues of recent fusion research activ

Plasma science is the study of ionized states of matter. This book discusses the field's potential contributions to society and recommends actions that would optimize those contributions. It includes an assessment of the field's scientific and technological status as well as a discussion of broad themes such as fundamental plasma experiments, theoretical and computational plasma research, and plasma science education.

TO THE SECOND EDITION In the nine years since this book was first written, rapid progress has been made scientifically in nuclear fusion, space physics, and nonlinear plasma theory. At the same time, the energy shortage on the one hand and the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn on the other have increased the national awareness of the important applications of plasma physics to energy production and to the understanding of our space environment. In magnetic confinement fusion, this period has seen the attainment 13 of a Lawson number nTE of 2 x 10 cm -3 sec in the Alcator tokamaks at MIT; neutral-beam heating of the PL T tokamak at Princeton to KTi = 6. 5 keV; increase of average ß to 3%-5% in tokamaks at Oak Ridge and General Atomic; and the stabilization of mirror-confined plasmas at Livermore, together with injection of ion current to near field-reversal conditions in the 2XIIß device. Invention of the tandem mirror has given magnetic confinement a new and exciting dimension. New ideas have emerged, such as the compact torus, surface-field devices, and the EßT mirror-torus hybrid, and some old ideas, such as the stellarator and the reversed-field pinch, have been revived. Radiofrequency heat ing has become a new star with its promise of dc current drive. Perhaps most importantly, great progress has been made in the understanding of the MHD behavior of toroidal plasmas: tearing modes, magnetic Vll Vlll islands, and disruptions.

Significant advances have been made in fusion science, and a point has been reached when we need to decide if the United States is ready to begin a burning plasma experiment. A burning plasmaâ€"in which at least 50 percent of the energy to drive the fusion reaction is generated internallyâ€"is an essential step to reach the goal of fusion power generation. The Burning Plasma Assessment Committee was formed to provide advice on this decision. The committee concluded that there is high confidence in the readiness to proceed with the burning plasma step. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), with the United States as a significant partner, was the best choice. Once a commitment to ITER is made, fulfilling it should become the highest priority of the U.S. fusion research program. A funding trajectory is required that both captures the benefits of joining ITER and retains a strong scientific focus on the long-range goals of the program. Addition of the ITER project will require that the content, scope, and level of U.S. fusion activity be defined by program balancing through a priority-setting process initiated by the Office of Fusion Energy Science.

This textbook accommodates the two divergent developmental paths which have become solidly established in the field of fusion energy: the process of sequential tokamak development toward a prototype and the need for a more fundamental and integrative research approach before costly design choices are made.Emphasis is placed on the development of physically coherent and mathematically clear characterizations of the scientific and technological foundations of fusion energy which are specifically suitable for a first course on the subject. Of interest, therefore, are selected aspects of nuclear physics, electromagnetics, plasma physics, reaction dynamics, materials science, and engineering systems, all brought together to form an integrated perspective on nuclear fusion and its practical utilization.The book identifies several distinct themes. The first is concerned with preliminary and introductory topics which relate to the basic and relevant physical processes associated with nuclear fusion. Then, the authors undertake an analysis of magnetically confined, inertially confined, and low-temperature fusion energy concepts. Subsequently, they introduce the important blanket domains surrounding the fusion core and discuss synergetic fusion-fission systems. Finally, they consider selected conceptual and technological subjects germane to the continuing development of fusion energy systems.

For more than thirty years, the prospect of unlimited fusion energy has attracted scientists and the public. Joan Lisa Bromberg's book documents the history of the American magnetic fusion reactor program. It is also a lively account that will inform interested citizens of limited technical background who are concerned with the nation's energy strategy. The book carries the story from the program's inception under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1951 to its operations under the then-new Department of Energy in 1978. Fusion concentrates on the four federally funded laboratories where most of the money has been spent (about $2 billion so far): Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Princeton. It recounts the crucial experiments along the way - the ones that succeeded, the ones that failed, the ones that showed promise. And it explains and diagrams the various magnetic configurations and devices that were developed and tested: the stellarator, the pinch, the mirror, the tokamak. With the government and the public constantly looking over the scientists' shoulders, it is no surprise that research directions were heavily influenced by extrascientific pressures: the major decisions in fusion research have always emerged from a medley of technical, institutional, and political considerations. The intermingling of science and politics is demonstrated in specific detail. The magnetic fusion reactor project is, of course, ongoing. Latest target date for producing commercial power: 2050. Estimated total cost: $15 billion. Dr. Bromberg has written extensively on topics in the history of modern science.