Tokomak

A tokamak is a device used to confine and control plasma in order to achieve controlled nuclear fusion. It is one of the most promising approaches to achieving practical fusion energy.

The word "tokamak" is derived from the Russian acronym for "toroidal chamber with magnetic coils." The basic design of a tokamak involves a donut-shaped vacuum chamber surrounded by magnetic coils. The plasma, which is a hot, ionized gas, is injected into the chamber and heated to extremely high temperatures using various heating methods such as radiofrequency waves or neutral beam injection.

The magnetic coils produce a strong magnetic field that shapes and confines the plasma within the donut-shaped chamber. This magnetic confinement prevents the hot plasma from coming into contact with the walls, which would cause cooling and disruption of the fusion process.

To achieve fusion, the plasma must be heated and compressed to extreme conditions where the atomic nuclei collide with enough energy to overcome their electrostatic repulsion and merge together, releasing large amounts of energy. In a tokamak, this is accomplished by maintaining a high-density plasma and achieving temperatures of tens of millions of degrees Celsius.

There have been many tokamak experiments worldwide, with some of the notable examples including the Joint European Torus (JET) in the United Kingdom, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in China, and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is currently under construction in France.

ITER is an international collaboration involving 35 countries, and it aims to demonstrate the feasibility of sustained fusion reactions and produce a net energy gain from fusion. It is the largest tokamak project to date and is expected to begin operation in the 2030s.

While significant progress has been made in tokamak research, there are still technical challenges to overcome in achieving a practical, commercially viable fusion power plant. However, the tokamak concept remains a leading contender in the pursuit of controlled fusion energy due to its relatively mature technology and extensive research efforts.