Plasma Research At The Limit

This book looks behind the scenes at the Plasma Crystal laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS) to see how science and research is carried out on the first physical science laboratory in space. As well as the background story of the ISS and the many scientific discoveries that were made, it focuses on the ups and downs on the route to success, and the people involved: the scientists, engineers, agency representatives, and especially, the experimenters in space OCo the cosmonauts.Complex plasma research is the other focal point of the book, and this field of science is at the forefront of modern physics. The unexpected applications of the research ranging from plasma medicine and hygiene to agriculture are amongst the fastest growing and most promising areas of research and development.This book is written in such a way that it can be read by anyone curious about space, the ISS, research in space, cosmonauts, scientific endeavours and new discoveries."

This revised and enlarged second edition of the popular textbook and reference contains comprehensive treatments of both the established foundations of magnetic fusion plasma physics and of the newly developing areas of active research. It concludes with a look ahead to fusion power reactors of the future. The well-established topics of fusion plasma physics -- basic plasma phenomena, Coulomb scattering, drifts of charged particles in magnetic and electric fields, plasma confinement by magnetic fields, kinetic and fluid collective plasma theories, plasma equilibria and flux surface geometry, plasma waves and instabilities, classical and neoclassical transport, plasma-materials interactions, radiation, etc. -- are fully developed from first principles through to the computational models employed in modern plasma physics. The new and emerging topics of fusion plasma physics research -- fluctuation-driven plasma transport and gyrokinetic/gyrofluid computational methodology, the physics of the divertor, neutral atom recycling and transport, impurity ion transport, the physics of the plasma edge (diffusive and non-diffusive transport, MARFEs, ELMs, the L-H transition, thermal-radiative instabilities, shear suppression of transport, velocity spin-up), etc. -- are comprehensively developed and related to the experimental evidence. Operational limits on the performance of future fusion reactors are developed from plasma physics and engineering constraints, and conceptual designs of future fusion power reactors are discussed.

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.

An intense charged particle beam can be characterized as an organized charged particle flow for which the effects of beam self-fields are of major importance in describing the evolution of the flow. Research employing such beams is now a rapidly growing field with important applications ranging from the development of high power sources of coherent radiation to inertial confinement fusion. Major programs have now been established at several laboratories in the United States and Great Britain, as well as in the USSR, Japan, and several Eastern and Western European nations. In addition, related research activities are being pursued at the graduate level at several universities in the US and abroad. When the author first entered this field in 1973 there was no single reference text that provided a broad survey of the important topics, yet contained sufficient detail to be of interest to the active researcher. That situation has persisted, and this book is an attempt to fill the void. As such, the text is aimed at the graduate student, or beginning researcher; however, it contains ample information to be a convenient reference source for the advanced worker.