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Quasi-isodynamic Stellarators
A quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator is a type of stellarator (a magnetic confinement fusion reactor) that satisfies the property of omnigeneity, avoids the potentially hazardous toroidal bootstrap current, and has minimal neoclassical transport in the collisionless regime. Wendelstein 7-X, the largest stellarator in the world, was designed to be roughly quasi-isodynamic (QI). In contrast to quasi-symmetric fields, exactly QI fields on flux surfaces cannot be expressed analytically. However, it has been shown that nearly-exact QI can be extremely well approximated through mathematical optimization, and that the resulting fields enjoy the aforementioned properties. In a QI field, level curves of the magnetic field strength B on a flux surface close poloidally (the short way around the torus), and not toroidally (the long way around), causing the stellarator to resemble a series of linked magnetic mirror A magnetic mirror, also known as a magnetic trap or sometimes as a pyrotro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stellarator
A stellarator confines Plasma (physics), plasma using external magnets. Scientists aim to use stellarators to generate fusion power. It is one of many types of magnetic confinement fusion devices. The name "stellarator" refers to stars because fusion mostly occurs in stars such as the Sun. It is one of the earliest human-designed fusion power devices. The stellarator was invented by American scientist Lyman Spitzer in 1951. Much of its early development was carried out by Spitzer's team at what became the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Spitzer's Model A began operation in 1953 and demonstrated plasma confinement. Larger models followed, but demonstrated poor performance, losing plasma at rates far worse than theoretical predictions. By the early 1960s, hopes of producing a commercial machine faded, and attention turned to studying fundamental theory. By the mid-1960s, Spitzer was convinced that the stellarator was matching the Bohm diffusion rate, which suggested i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
