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Princeton Field-reversed Configuration Experiment
The Princeton field-reversed configuration (PFRC) is a series of experiments in plasma physics, an experimental program to evaluate a configuration for a fusion power reactor, at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The experiment probes the dynamics of long-pulse, collisionless, low s-parameter field-reversed configurations (FRCs) formed with odd-parity rotating magnetic fields. It aims to experimentally verify the physics predictions that such configurations are globally stable and have transport levels comparable with classical magnetic diffusion. It also aims to apply this technology to the Direct Fusion Drive concept for spacecraft propulsion. History The PFRC was initially funded by the United States Department of Energy. Early in its operation it was contemporary with such RMF-FRCs as the Translation Confinement Sustainment experiment (TCS) and the Prairie View Rotamak (PV Rotamak). At PPPL, the experiment PFRC-1 ran from 2008 through 2011. PFRC-2 is running . PFR ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Plasma Physics
Plasma ()πλάσμα , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek English Lexicon'', on Perseus is one of the four fundamental states of matter. It contains a significant portion of charged particles – ions and/or s. The presence of these charged particles is what primarily sets plasma apart from the other fundamental states of matter. It is the most abundant form of [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Fusion Power
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but as of 2022, only one design, an inertial confinement laser-driven fusion machine at the US National Ignition Facility, has conclusively produced a positive fusion energy gain factor, i.e. more power output than input. Fusion processes require fuel and a confined environment with sufficient temperature, pressure, and confinement time to create a plasma in which fusion can occur. The combination of these figures that results in a power-producing system is known as the Lawson criterion. In stars, the most common fuel is hydrogen, and gravity provides extremely long confinement times that reach the conditions needed for fusion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known in particular for the development of the stellarator and tokamak designs, along with numerous fundamental advances in plasma physics and the exploration of many other plasma confinement concepts. PPPL grew out of the top-secret Cold War project to control thermonuclear reactions, called Project Matterhorn. The focus of this program changed from H-bombs to fusion power in 1951, when Lyman Spitzer developed the stellarator concept and was granted funding from the Atomic Energy Commission to study the concept. This led to a series of machines in the 1950s and 60s. In 1961, after declassification, Project Matterhorn was renamed the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. PPPL's stellarators proved unable to meet their performance goals. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Field-reversed Configuration
A field-reversed configuration (FRC) is a type of plasma device studied as a means of producing nuclear fusion. It confines a plasma on closed magnetic field lines without a central penetration. In an FRC, the plasma has the form of a self-stable torus, similar to a smoke ring. FRCs are closely related to another self-stable magnetic confinement fusion device, the spheromak. Both are considered part of the compact toroid class of fusion devices. FRCs normally have a plasma that is more elongated than spheromaks, having the overall shape of a hollowed out sausage rather than the roughly spherical spheromak. FRCs were a major area of research in the 1960s and into the 1970s, but had problems scaling up into practical fusion triple products. Interest returned in the 1990s and , FRCs were an active research area. History The FRC was first observed in laboratories in the late 1950s during theta pinch experiments with a reversed background magnetic field. The first studies were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Direct Fusion Drive
Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is a conceptual low radioactivity, nuclear- fusion rocket engine designed to produce both thrust and electric power for interplanetary spacecraft. The concept is based on the Princeton field-reversed configuration reactor invented in 2002 by Samuel A. Cohen and is being modeled and experimentally tested at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a US Department of Energy facility. It is also modeled and evaluated by Princeton Satellite Systems. As of 2018, the concept entered Phase II, a simulation phase, to further advance the design. Principle The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is a conceptual fusion-powered spacecraft engine named for its ability to produce thrust from nuclear fusion without going through an intermediary electricity-generating step. The DFD uses a magnetic confinement and heating system, fueled with a mixture of helium-3 () and deuterium (D or ), to produce a high specific power, variable thrust and specific impulse, and a low-radiation space ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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United States Department Of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States. The DOE oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and domestic energy production and energy conservation. The DOE was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories. The DOE also directs research in genomics, with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative. The department is headed by the Secretary of Energy, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of Energy is Jennifer Granholm, who has serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Translation Confinement Sustainment Experiment
The Translation Confinement Sustainment experiment (TCS) was a plasma physics experiment at the University of Washington's Redmond Plasma Physics Laboratory from 2002 until 2009. The experiment studied magnetic plasma confinement to support controlled nuclear fusion experiments. Specifically, TCS pioneered the sustainment and heating of a Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) by Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF). The experiment was upgraded in 2006 to form the Translation Confinement Sustainment experiment -Upgraded (TCS-U). Background FRCs are of interest to the plasma physics community because of their confinement properties and their small size. While most large fusion experiments in the world are tokamaks, FRCs are seen as a viable alternative because of their higher Beta, meaning the same power output could be produced from a smaller volume of plasma, and their good plasma stability. History In the 1990s, the Large-S Experiment (LSX) had demonstrated that there exist kinetica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Prairie View Rotamak
The Prairie View (PV) Rotamak is a plasma physics experiment at Prairie View A&M University. The experiment studies magnetic plasma confinement to support controlled nuclear fusion experiments. Specifically, the PV Rotamak can be used as either a spherical tokamak or a field-reversed configuration. Some time between 2015 and 2017, most personnel moved on to advanced career opportunities. In 2017, a Final Report to Department of Energy (DOE) was prepared and submitted by Dr. Saganti of PVAMU on the entire research work supported by DOE for 12 years. Background FRCs and spherical tokamaks are of interest to the plasma physics community because of their confinement properties and their small size. While most large fusion experiments in the world are tokamaks, FRCs and STs are seen as a viable alternative because of their higher Beta, meaning the same power output could be produced from a smaller volume of plasma, and their good plasma stability. History The PV Rotamak was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is the study of the magnetic properties and behaviour of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas, liquid metals, salt water, and electrolytes. The word ''magnetohydrodynamics'' is derived from ' meaning magnetic field, ' meaning water, and ' meaning movement. The field of MHD was initiated by Hannes Alfvén, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970. The fundamental concept behind MHD is that magnetic fields can induce currents in a moving conductive fluid, which in turn polarizes the fluid and reciprocally changes the magnetic field itself. The set of equations that describe MHD are a combination of the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid dynamics and Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism. These differential equations must be solved simultaneously, either analytically or numerically. History The first r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is slightly less massive than Eris. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the inner planets. Compared to Earth's moon, Pluto has only one sixth its mass and one third its volume. Pluto has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit, ranging from from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (). Pluto's eccentric orbit periodically brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance prevents them from colliding. Pluto has five known moons: Charon, the largest, whose diameter is just over half that of Pluto; Styx; Nix; Kerberos; and Hydra. Pluto and Char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |