Experiments directed toward developing fusion power are invariably done with dedicated machines which can be classified according to the principles they use to confine the plasma fuel and keep it hot.
The major division is between magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. In magnetic confinement, the tendency of the hot plasma to expand is counteracted by the Lorentz force between currents in the plasma and magnetic fields produced by external coils. The particle densities tend to be in the range of 1018 to 1022 m−3 and the linear dimensions in the range of 0.1 to 10 m. The particle and energy confinement times may range from under a millisecond to over a second, but the configuration itself is often maintained through input of particles, energy, and current for times that are hundreds or thousands of times longer. Some concepts are capable of maintaining a plasma indefinitely.
In contrast, with inertial confinement, there is nothing to counteract the expansion of the plasma. The confinement time is simply the time it takes the plasma pressure to overcome the inertia of the particles, hence the name. The densities tend to be in the range of 10^31 to 10^33 m−3 and the plasma radius in the range of 1 to 100 micrometers. These conditions are obtained by irradiating a millimeter-sized solid pellet with a nanosecond laser or ion pulse. The outer layer of the pellet is ablated, providing a reaction force that compresses the central 10% of the fuel by a factor of 10 or 20 to 10^3 or 10^4 times solid density. These microplasmas disperse in a time measured in nanoseconds. For a fusion power reactor, a repetition rate of several per second will be needed.
Magnetic confinement
Within the field of magnetic confinement experiments, there is a basic division between toroidal and open magnetic field topologies. Generally speaking, it is easier to contain a plasma in the direction perpendicular to the field than parallel to it. Parallel confinement can be solved either by bending the field lines back on themselves into circles or, more commonly, toroidal surfaces, or by constricting the bundle of field lines at both ends, which causes some of the particles to be reflected by the mirror effect. The toroidal geometries can be further subdivided according to whether the machine itself has a toroidal geometry, i.e., a solid core through the center of the plasma. The alternative is to dispense with a solid core and rely on currents in the plasma to produce the toroidal field.
Mirror machines have advantages in a simpler geometry and a better potential for direct conversion of particle energy to electricity. They generally require higher magnetic fields than toroidal machines, but the biggest problem has turned out to be confinement. For good confinement there must be more particles moving perpendicular to the field than there are moving parallel to the field. Such a non-Maxwellian velocity distribution is, however, very difficult to maintain and energetically costly.
The mirrors' advantage of simple machine geometry is maintained in machines which produce compact toroids, but there are potential disadvantages for stability in not having a central conductor and there is generally less possibility to control (and thereby optimize) the magnetic geometry. Compact toroid concepts are generally less well developed than those of toroidal machines. While this does not necessarily mean that they cannot work better than mainstream concepts, the uncertainty involved is much greater.
Somewhat in a class by itself is the Z-pinch, which has circular field lines. This was one of the first concepts tried, but it did not prove very successful. Furthermore, there was never a convincing concept for turning the pulsed machine requiring electrodes into a practical reactor.
The dense plasma focus is a controversial and "non-mainstream" device that relies on currents in the plasma to produce a toroid. It is a pulsed device that depends on a plasma that is not in equilibrium and has the potential for direct conversion of particle energy to electricity. Experiments are ongoing to test relatively new theories to determine if the device has a future.
Toroidal machine
Toroidal machines can be axially symmetric, like the tokamak and the reversed field pinch (RFP), or asymmetric, like the stellarator. The additional degree of freedom gained by giving up toroidal symmetry might ultimately be usable to produce better confinement, but the cost is complexity in the engineering, the theory, and the experimental diagnostics. Stellarators typically have a periodicity, e.g. a fivefold rotational symmetry. The RFP, despite some theoretical advantages such as a low magnetic field at the coils, has not proven very successful.
Tokamak
[1]
| Device Name | Status | Construction | Operation | Location | Organisation | Major/Minor Radius | B-field | Plasma current | Purpose | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Shut down | ? | 1957-1959 | Moscow  |
Kurchatov Institute | 0.625 m/0.13 m | 1 T | 0.04 MA | First tokamak |  |
| T-3 | Shut down | ? | 1962-? | Moscow |
Kurchatov Institute | 1 m/0.12 m | 2.5 T | 0.06 MA | ||
| ST (Symmetric Tokamak) | Shut down | Model C | 1970-1974 | Princeton  |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 1.09 m/0.13 m | 5.0 T | 0.13 MA | First American tokamak, converted from Model C stellarator | |
| ORMAK (Oak Ridge tokaMAK) | Shut down | 1971-1976 | Oak Ridge |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 0.8 m/0.23 m | 2.5 T | 0.34 MA | First to achieve 20 MK plasma temperature |  |
|
| ATC (Adiabatic Toroidal Compressor) | Shut down | 1971-1972 | 1972-1976 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.88 m/0.11 m | 2 T | 0.05 MA | Demonstrate compressional plasma heating |  |
| TFR (Tokamak de Fontenay-aux-Roses) | Shut down | 1973-1984 | Fontenay-aux-Roses  |
CEA | 1 m/0.2 m | 6 T | 0.49 | |||
| T-10 (Tokamak-10) | Operational | 1975- | Moscow |
Kurchatov Institute | 1.50 m/0.37 m | 4 T | 0.8 MA | Largest tokamak of its time |  |
|
| PLT (Princeton Large Torus) | Shut down | 1975-1986 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 1.32 m/0.4 m | 4 T | 0.7 MA | First to achieve 1 MA plasma current |  |
|
| ISX-B | Shut down | ? | 1978-? | Oak Ridge |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 0.93 m/0.27 m | 1.8 T | 0.2 MA | Superconducting coils, attempt high-beta operation | |
| ASDEX (Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment)[2] | Recycled →HL-2A | 1980-1990 | Garching  |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 1.65 m/0.4 m | 2.8 T | 0.5 MA | Discovery of the H-mode in 1982 | ||
| TEXTOR (Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research)[3][4] | Shut down | 1976-1980 | 1981-2013 | Jülich |
Forschungszentrum Jülich | 1.75 m/0.47 m | 2.8 T | 0.8 MA | Study plasma-wall interactions | |
| TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor)[5] | Shut down | 1980-1982 | 1982-1997 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 2.4 m/0.8 m | 6 T | 3 MA | Attempted scientific break-even, reached record fusion power of 10.7 MW and temperature of 510 MK |  |
| JET (Joint European Torus)[6] | Operational | 1978-1983 | 1983- | Culham  |
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy | 2.96 m/0.96 m | 4 T | 7 MA | Record for fusion output power 16.1 MW |  |
| Novillo[7][8] | Shut down | NOVA-II | 1983-2004 | Mexico City  |
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares | 0.23 m/0.06 m | 1 T | 0.01 MA | Study plasma-wall interactions | |
| JT-60 (Japan Torus-60)[9] | Recycled →JT-60SA | 1985-2010 | Naka  |
Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute | 3.4 m/1.0 m | 4 T | 3 MA | High-beta steady-state operation, highest fusion triple product | ||
| DIII-D[10] | Operational | 1986[11] | 1986- | San Diego |
General Atomics | 1.67 m/0.67 m | 2.2 T | 3 MA | Tokamak Optimization |  |
| STOR-M (Saskatchewan Torus-Modified)[12] | Operational | 1987- | Saskatoon  |
Plasma Physics Laboratory (Saskatchewan) | 0.46 m/0.125 m | 1 T | 0.06 MA | Study plasma heating and anomalous transport | ||
| T-15 | Recycled →T-15MD | 1983-1988 | 1988-1995 | Moscow |
Kurchatov Institute | 2.43 m/0.7 m | 3.6 T | 1 MA | First superconducting tokamak. |  |
| Tore Supra[13] | Recycled →WEST | 1988-2011 | Cadarache |
Département de Recherches sur la Fusion Contrôlée | 2.25 m/0.7 m | 4.5 T | 2 MA | Large superconducting tokamak with active cooling | ||
| ADITYA (tokamak) | Operational | 1989- | Gandhinagar  |
Institute for Plasma Research | 0.75 m/0.25 m | 1.2 T | 0.25 MA | |||
| COMPASS (COMPact ASSembly)[14][15] | Operational | 1980- | 1989- | Prague  |
Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR | 0.56 m/0.23 m | 2.1 T | 0.32 MA |  |
|
| FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) | Operational | 1990- | Frascati  |
ENEA | 0.935 m/0.35 m | 8 T | 1.6 MA | |||
| START (Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak)[16] | Shut down | 1990-1998 | Culham |
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy | 0.3 m/? | 0.5 T | 0.31 MA | First full-sized Spherical Tokamak | ||
| ASDEX Upgrade (Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment) | Operational | 1991- | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 1.65 m/0.5 m | 2.6 T | 1.4 MA |  |
||
| Alcator C-Mod (Alto Campo Toro)[17] | Operational (Funded by Fusion Startups) | 1986- | 1991-2016 | Cambridge |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 0.68 m/0.22 m | 8 T | 2 MA | record plasma pressure 2.05 bar |  |
| ISTTOK (Instituto Superior Técnico TOKamak)[18] | Operational | 1992- | Lisbon  |
Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear | 0.46 m/0.085 m | 2.8 T | 0.01 MA | |||
| TCV (Tokamak à Configuration Variable)[19] | Operational | 1992- | Lausanne  |
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | 0.88 m/0.25 m | 1.43 T | 1.2 MA | Confinement studies |  |
|
| HBT-EP (High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse) | Operational | 1993- | New York City |
Columbia University Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.92 m/0.15 m | 0.35 T | 0.03 MA | High-Beta Tokamak |  |
|
| HT-7 (Hefei Tokamak-7) | Shut down | 1991-1994 | 1995-2013 | Hefei  |
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science | 1.22 m/0.27 m | 2 T | 0.2 MA | China's first superconducting tokamak |  |
| Pegasus Toroidal Experiment[20] | Operational | ? | 1996- | Madison |
University of Wisconsin–Madison | 0.45 m/0.4 m | 0.18 T | 0.3 MA | Extremely low aspect ratio |  |
| NSTX (National Spherical Torus Experiment)[21] | Operational | 1999- | Plainsboro Township |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.85 m/0.68 m | 0.3 T | 2 MA | Study the spherical tokamak concept |  |
|
| ET (Electric Tokamak) | Recycled →ETPD | 1998 | 1999-2006 | Los Angeles |
UCLA | 5 m/1 m | 0.25 T | 0.045 MA | Largest tokamak of its time |  |
| CDX-U (Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade) | Recycled →LTX | 2000-2005 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.3 m/? m | 0.23 T | 0.03 MA | Study Lithium in plasma walls |  |
|
| MAST (Mega-Ampere Spherical Tokamak)[22] | Recycled →MAST-Upgrade | 1997-1999 | 2000-2013 | Culham |
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy | 0.85 m/0.65 m | 0.55 T | 1.35 MA | Investigate spherical tokamak for fusion |  |
| HL-2A | Recycled →HL-2M | 2000-2002 | 2002-2018 | Chengdu |
Southwestern Institute of Physics | 1.65 m/0.4 m | 2.7 T | 0.43 MA | H-mode physics, ELM mitigation | [1] |
| SST-1 (Steady State Superconducting Tokamak)[23] | Operational | 2001- | 2005- | Gandhinagar |
Institute for Plasma Research | 1.1 m/0.2 m | 3 T | 0.22 MA | Produce a 1000s elongated double null divertor plasma | |
| EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak)[24] | Operational | 2000-2005 | 2006- | Hefei |
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science | 1.85 m/0.43 m | 3.5 T | 0.5 MA | H-Mode plasma for over 100 s at 50 MK |  |
| J-TEXT (Joint TEXT) | Operational | TEXT (Texas EXperimental Tokamak) | 2007- | Wuhan |
Huazhong University of Science and Technology | 1.05 m/0.26 m | 2.0 T | 0.2 MA | Develop plasma control | [2] |
| KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research)[25] | Operational | 1998-2007 | 2008- | Daejeon  |
National Fusion Research Institute | 1.8 m/0.5 m | 3.5 T | 2 MA | Tokamak with fully superconducting magnets |  |
| LTX (Lithium Tokamak Experiment) | Operational | 2005-2008 | 2008- | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.4 m/? m | 0.4 T | 0.4 MA | Study Lithium in plasma walls |  |
| QUEST (Q-shu University Experiment with Steady-State Spherical Tokamak)[26] | Operational | 2008- | Kasuga |
Kyushu University | 0.68 m/0.4 m | 0.25 T | 0.02 MA | Study steady state operation of a Spherical Tokamak |  |
|
| Kazakhstan Tokamak for Material testing (KTM) | Operational | 2000-2010 | 2010- | Kurchatov  |
National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan | 0.86 m/0.43 m | 1 T | 0.75 MA | Testing of wall and divertor | |
| ST25-HTS[27] | Operational | 2012-2015 | 2015- | Culham |
Tokamak Energy Ltd | 0.25 m/0.125 m | 0.1 T | 0.02 MA | Steady state plasma |  |
| WEST (Tungsten Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) | Operational | 2013-2016 | 2016- | Cadarache |
Département de Recherches sur la Fusion Contrôlée | 2.5 m/0.5 m | 3.7 T | 1 MA | Superconducting tokamak with active cooling |  |
| ST40[28] | Operational | 2017-2018 | 2018- | Didcot |
Tokamak Energy Ltd | 0.4 m/0.3 m | 3 T | 2 MA | First high field spherical tokamak |  |
| MAST-U (Mega-Ampere Spherical Tokamak Upgrade)[29] | Operational | 2013-2019 | 2020- | Culham |
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy | 0.85 m/0.65 m | 0.92 T | 2 MA | Test new exhaust concepts for a spherical tokamak | |
| HL-2M[30] | Operational | 2018-2019 | 2020- | Leshan |
Southwestern Institute of Physics | 1.78 m/0.65 m | 2.2 T | 1.2 MA | Elongated plasma with 200M °C |  |
| JT-60SA (Japan Torus-60 super, advanced)[31] | Under construction | 2013-2020 | 2020? | Naka |
Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute | 2.96 m/1.18 m | 2.25 T | 5.5 MA | Optimise plasma configurations for ITER and DEMO with full non-inductive steady-state operation |  |
| ITER[32] | Under construction | 2013-2025? | 2025? | Cadarache |
ITER Council | 6.2 m/2.0 m | 5.3 T | 15 MA ? | Demonstrate feasibility of fusion on a power-plant scale with 500 MW fusion power |  |
| DTT (Divertor Tokamak Test facility)[33][34] | Planned | 2022-2025? | 2025? | Frascati |
ENEA | 2.14 m/0.70 m | 6 T ? | 5.5 MA ? | Superconducting tokamak to study power exhaust | [3] |
| SPARC[35][36] | Planned | 2021-? | 2025? | |
Commonwealth Fusion Systems and MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center | 1.85 m/0.57 m | 12.2 T | 8.7 MA | Compact, high-field tokamak with ReBCO coils and 100 MW planned fusion power |  |
| IGNITOR[37] | Planned[38] | ? | >2024 | Troitzk  |
ENEA | 1.32 m/0.47 m | 13 T | 11 MA ? | Compact fustion reactor with self-sustained plasma and 100 MW of planned fusion power | |
| CFETR (China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor)[39] | Planned | 2020? | 2030? | |
Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 5.7 m/1.6 m ? | 5 T ? | 10 MA ? | Bridge gaps between ITER and DEMO, planned fusion power 1000 MW | [4] |
| STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) | Planned | 2032? | 2040? | Culham |
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy | 3 m/2 m ? | ? | ? | Spherical tokamak with hundreds of MW planned electrical output | |
| K-DEMO (Korean fusion demonstration tokamak reactor)[40] | Planned | 2037? | |
National Fusion Research Institute | 6.8 m/2.1 m | 7 T | 12 MA ? | Prototype for the development of commercial fusion reactors with around 2200 MW of fusion power |  |
|
| DEMO (DEMOnstration Power Station) | Planned | 2031? | 2044? | ? | 9 m/3 m ? | 6 T ? |
Stellarator
| Device Name | Status | Construction | Operation | Type | Location | Organisation | Major/Minor Radius | B-field | Purpose | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model A | Shut down | 1952-1953 | 1953-? | Figure-8 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.3 m/0.02 m | 0.1 T | First stellarator | [5] |
| Model B | Shut down | 1953-1954 | 1954-1959 | Figure-8 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.3 m/0.02 m | 5 T | Development of plasma diagnostics | |
| Model B-1 | Shut down | ?-1959 | Figure-8 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.25 m/0.02 m | 5 T | Yielded 1 MK plasma temperatures | ||
| Model B-2 | Shut down | 1957 | Figure-8 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.3 m/0.02 m | 5 T | Electron temperatures up to 10 MK | [6] | |
| Model B-3 | Shut down | 1957 | 1958- | Figure-8 | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 0.4 m/0.02 m | 4 T | Last figure-8 device, confinement studies of ohmically heated plasma | |
| Model B-64 | Shut down | 1955 | 1955 | Square | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | ? m/0.05 m | 1.8 T | ||
| Model B-65 | Shut down | 1957 | 1957 | Racetrack | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | [7] | |||
| Model B-66 | Shut down | 1958 | 1958-? | Racetrack | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | ||||
| Wendelstein 1-A | Shut down | 1960 | Racetrack | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 0.35 m/0.02 m | 2 T | ℓ=3 | ||
| Wendelstein 1-B | Shut down | 1960 | Racetrack | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 0.35 m/0.02 m | 2 T | ℓ=2 | ||
| Model C | Recycled →ST | 1957-1962 | 1962-1969 | Racetrack | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 1.9 m/0.07 m | 3.5 T | Found large plasma losses by Bohm diffusion | |
| L-1 | Shut down | 1963 | 1963-1971 | Lebedev |
Lebedev Physical Institute | 0.6 m/0.05 m | 1 T | |||
| SIRIUS | Shut down | 1964-? | Kharkov |
|||||||
| TOR-1 | Shut down | 1967 | 1967-1973 | Lebedev |
Lebedev Physical Institute | 0.6 m/0.05 m | 1 T | |||
| TOR-2 | Shut down | ? | 1967-1973 | Lebedev |
Lebedev Physical Institute | 0.63 m/0.036 m | 2.5 T | |||
| Wendelstein 2-A | Shut down | 1965-1968 | 1968-1974 | Heliotron | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 0.5 m/0.05 m | 0.6 T | Good plasma confinement “Munich mystery” |  |
| Wendelstein 2-B | Shut down | ?-1970 | 1971-? | Heliotron | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 0.5 m/0.055 m | 1.25 T | Demonstrated similar performance than tokamaks |  |
| L-2 | Shut down | ? | 1975-? | Lebedev |
Lebedev Physical Institute | 1 m/0.11 m | 2.0 T | |||
| WEGA | Recycled →HIDRA | 1972-1975 | 1975-2013 | Classical stellarator | Greifswald |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 0.72 m/0.15 m | 1.4 T | Test lower hybrid heating |  |
| Wendelstein 7-A | Shut down | ? | 1975-1985 | Classical stellarator | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 2 m/0.1 m | 3.5 T | First "pure" stellarator without plasma current | |
| Heliotron-E | Shut down | ? | 1980-? | Heliotron | |
2.2 m/0.2 m | 1.9 T | |||
| Heliotron-DR | Shut down | ? | 1981-? | Heliotron | |
0.9 m/0.07 m | 0.6 T | |||
| Uragan-3 (M [uk])[41] | Operational | ? | 1982-?[42] | Torsatron | Kharkiv  |
National Science Center, Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (NSC KIPT) | 1.0 m/0.12 m | 1.3 T | ? | |
| Auburn Torsatron (AT) | Shut down | ? | 1984-1990 | Torsatron | Auburn |
Auburn University | 0.58 m/0.14 m | 0.2 T |  |
|
| Wendelstein 7-AS | Shut down | 1982-1988 | 1988-2002 | Modular, advanced stellarator | Garching |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 2 m/0.13 m | 2.6 T | First H-mode in a stellarator in 1992 |  |
| Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) | Shut down | 1984-1988[43] | 1988-? | Torsatron | Oak Ridge |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 2.1 m/0.27 m | 2.0 T | High-beta operation | |
| Compact Helical System (CHS) | Shut down | ? | 1989-? | Heliotron | Toki |
National Institute for Fusion Science | 1 m/0.2 m | 1.5 T | ||
| Compact Auburn Torsatron (CAT) | Shut down | ?-1990 | 1990-2000 | Torsatron | Auburn |
Auburn University | 0.53 m/0.11 m | 0.1 T | Study magnetic flux surfaces |  |
| H-1NF[44] | Operational | 1992- | Heliac | Canberra  |
Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University | 1.0 m/0.19 m | 0.5 T |  |
||
| TJ-K[45] | Operational | TJ-IU | 1994- | Torsatron | Kiel, Stuttgart |
University of Stuttgart | 0.60 m/0.10 m | 0.5 T | Teaching | |
| TJ-II[46] | Operational | 1991- | 1997- | flexible Heliac | Madrid  |
National Fusion Laboratory, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas | 1.5 m/0.28 m | 1.2 T | Study plasma in flexible configuration |  |
| LHD (Large Helical Device)[47] | Operational | 1990-1998 | 1998- | Heliotron | Toki |
National Institute for Fusion Science | 3.5 m/0.6 m | 3 T | Determine feasibility of a stellarator fusion reactor |  |
| HSX (Helically Symmetric Experiment) | Operational | 1999- | Modular, quasi-helically symmetric | Madison |
University of Wisconsin–Madison | 1.2 m/0.15 m | 1 T | investigate plasma transport |  |
|
| Heliotron J (Heliotron J)[48] | Operational | 2000- | Heliotron | Kyoto |
Institute of Advanced Energy | 1.2 m/0.1 m | 1.5 T | Study helical-axis heliotron configuration | ||
| Columbia Non-neutral Torus (CNT) | Operational | ? | 2004- | Circular interlocked coils | New York City |
Columbia University | 0.3 m/0.1 m | 0.2 T | Study of non-neutral plasmas | |
| Uragan-2(M)[49] | Operational | 1988-2006 | 2006-[50] | Heliotron, Torsatron | Kharkiv |
National Science Center, Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (NSC KIPT) | 1.7 m/0.24 m | 2.4 T | ? | |
| Quasi-poloidal stellarator (QPS)[51][52] | Cancelled | 2001-2007 | - | Modular | Oak Ridge |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 0.9 m/0.33 m | 1.0 T | Stellarator research |  |
| NCSX (National Compact Stellarator Experiment) | Cancelled | 2004-2008 | - | Helias | Princeton |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory | 1.4 m/0.32 m | 1.7 T | High-β stability |  |
| Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) | Operational | ? | 2007?- | Torsatron | Auburn |
Auburn University | 0.75 m/0.2 m | 0.7 T | Hybrid stellarator/tokamak |  |
| HIDRA (Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications)[53] | Operational | 2013-2014 (WEGA) | 2014- | ? | Urbana, IL |
University of Illinois | 0.72 m/0.19 m | 0.5 T | Stellarator and Tokamak in one device |  |
| UST_2[54] | Operational | 2013 | 2014- | modular three period quasi-isodynamic | Madrid |
Charles III University of Madrid | 0.29 m/0.04 m | 0.089 T | 3D printed stellarator |  |
| Wendelstein 7-X[55] | Operational | 1996-2015 | 2015- | Helias | Greifswald |
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik | 5.5 m/0.53 m | 3 T | Steady-state plasma in fully optimized stellarator |  |
| SCR-1 (Stellarator of Costa Rica) | Operational | 2011-2015 | 2016- | Modular | Cartago  |
Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | 0.14 m/0.042 m | 0.044 T |  |
Magnetic mirror
Baseball I/Baseball II Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA.
TMX, TMX-U Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA.
MFTF Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA.
Gas Dynamic Trap at Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Akademgorodok, Russia.
Toroidal Z-pinch
Perhapsatron (1953, USA)
ZETA (Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly) (1957, United Kingdom)
Reversed field pinch (RFP)
ETA-BETA II in Padua, Italy (1979-1989)
RFX (Reversed-Field eXperiment), Consorzio RFX, Padova, Italy[56]
MST (Madison Symmetric Torus), University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States[57]
T2R, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
TPE-RX, AIST, Tsukuba, Japan
KTX (Keda Torus eXperiment) in China (since 2015)[58]
Spheromak
Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment
Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC)
C-2 Tri Alpha Energy
C-2U Tri Alpha Energy
C-2W TAE Technologies
LSX University of Washington
IPA University of Washington
HF University of Washington
IPA- HF University of Washington
Open field lines
Plasma pinch
Trisops - 2 facing theta-pinch guns
Levitated Dipole
Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX), MIT/Columbia University, United States[59]
Inertial confinement
Main article: Inertial confinement fusion
Laser-driven
Current or under construction experimental facilities
Solid state lasers
National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL in California, US[60]
Laser Mégajoule of the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique in Bordeaux, France (under construction)[61]
OMEGA EL Laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, US
Gekko XII at the Institute for Laser Engineering in Osaka, Japan
ISKRA-4 and ISKRA-5 Lasers at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center VNIIEF[62]
Pharos laser, 2 beam 1 kJ/pulse (IR) Nd:Glass laser at the Naval Research Laboratories
Vulcan laser at the central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, 2.6 kJ/pulse (IR) Nd:glass laser
Trident laser, at LANL; 3 beams total; 2 x 400 J beams, 100 ps – 1 us; 1 beam ~100 J, 600 fs – 2 ns.
Gas lasers
NIKE laser at the Naval Research Laboratories, Krypton Fluoride gas laser
PALS, formerly the "Asterix IV", at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,[63] 1 kJ max. output iodine laser at 1.315 micrometre fundamental wavelength
Dismantled experimental facilities
Solid-state lasers
4 pi laser built during the mid 1960s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Long path laser built at LLNL in 1972
The two beam Janus laser built at LLNL in 1975
The two beam Cyclops laser built at LLNL in 1975
The two beam Argus laser built at LLNL in 1976
The 20 beam Shiva laser built at LLNL in 1977
24 beam OMEGA laser completed in 1980 at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics
The 10 beam Nova laser (dismantled) at LLNL. (First shot taken, December 1984 – final shot taken and dismantled in 1999)
Gas lasers
"Single Beam System" or simply "67" after the building number it was housed in, a 1 kJ carbon dioxide laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Gemini laser, 2 beams, 2.5 kJ carbon dioxide laser at LANL
Helios laser, 8 beam, ~10 kJ carbon dioxide laser at LANL — Media at Wikimedia Commons
Antares laser at LANL. (40 kJ CO2 laser, largest ever built, production of hot electrons in target plasma due to long wavelength of laser resulted in poor laser/plasma energy coupling)
Aurora laser 96 beam 1.3 kJ total krypton fluoride (KrF) laser at LANL
Sprite laser few joules/pulse laser at the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Z-Pinch
Main article: Z-Pinch
Z Pulsed Power Facility
ZEBRA device at the University of Nevada's Nevada Terawatt Facility[64]
Saturn accelerator at Sandia National Laboratory[65]
MAGPIE at Imperial College London
COBRA at Cornell University
PULSOTRON[66]
Inertial electrostatic confinement
Main article: Inertial electrostatic confinement
Fusor
Polywell
Magnetized target fusion
Main article: Magnetized target fusion
FRX-L
FRCHX
General Fusion - under development
LINUS project
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. 2013-11-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20131110043518/http://www.triam.kyushu-u.ac.jp/QUEST_HP/quest_e.html. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Missing or empty |title= (help)
"ST25 » Tokamak Energy".
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Kim, K.; Im, K.; Kim, H. C.; Oh, S.; Park, J. S.; Kwon, S.; Lee, Y. S.; Yeom, J. H.; Lee, C. (2015). "Design concept of K-DEMO for near-term implementation". Nuclear Fusion. 55 (5): 053027. Bibcode:2015NucFu..55e3027K. doi:10.1088/0029-5515/55/5/053027. ISSN 0029-5515.
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vte
Fusion power, processes and devices
Core topics
Nuclear fusion
Timeline List of experiments Nuclear power Nuclear reactor Atomic nucleus Fusion energy gain factor Lawson criterion Magnetohydrodynamics Neutron Plasma
Processes,
methods
Confinement
type
Gravitational
Alpha process Triple-alpha process CNO cycle Fusor Helium flash Nova
remnants Proton-proton chain Carbon-burning Lithium burning Neon-burning Oxygen-burning Silicon-burning R-process S-process
Magnetic
Dense plasma focus Field-reversed configuration Levitated dipole Magnetic mirror
Bumpy torus Reversed field pinch Spheromak Stellarator Tokamak
Spherical Z-pinch
Inertial
Bubble (acoustic) Laser-driven Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion
Electrostatic
Fusor Polywell
Other forms
Colliding beam Magnetized target Migma Muon-catalyzed Pyroelectric
Devices,
experiments
Magnetic
confinement
Tokamak
International
ITER DEMO PROTO
Americas
Canada STOR-M United States Alcator C-Mod ARC
SPARC DIII-D Electric Tokamak LTX NSTX
PLT TFTR Pegasus Brazil ETE Mexico Novillo [es]
Asia,
Oceania
China CFETR EAST
HT-7 SUNIST India ADITYA SST-1 Japan JT-60 QUEST [ja] Pakistan GLAST South Korea KSTAR
Europe
European Union JET Czech Republic COMPASS GOLEM [cs] France TFR WEST Germany ASDEX Upgrade TEXTOR Italy FTU IGNITOR Portugal ISTTOK Russia T-15 Switzerland TCV United Kingdom MAST-U START STEP
Stellarator
Americas
United States CNT CTH HIDRA HSX Model C NCSX Costa Rica SCR-1
Asia,
Oceania
Australia H-1NF Japan Heliotron J LHD
Europe
Germany WEGA Wendelstein 7-AS Wendelstein 7-X Spain TJ-II Ukraine Uragan-2M
Uragan-3M [uk]
RFP
Italy RFX United States MST
Magnetized target
Canada SPECTOR United States LINUS FRX-L – FRCHX Fusion Engine
Other
Russia GDT United States Astron LDX Lockheed Martin CFR MFTF
TMX Perhapsatron PFRC Riggatron SSPX United Kingdom Sceptre Trisops ZETA
Inertial
confinement
Laser
Americas
United States Argus Cyclops Janus LIFE Long path NIF Nike Nova OMEGA Shiva
Asia
Japan GEKKO XII
Europe
European Union HiPER Czech Republic Asterix IV (PALS) France LMJ LULI2000 Russia ISKRA United Kingdom Vulcan
Non-laser
United States PACER Z machine
Applications
Thermonuclear weapon
Pure fusion weapon
International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility
Hellenica World - Scientific Library
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
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