Like atoms coming together to release their power, fusion researchers worldwide are joining forces to solve the world's energy crisis. Harne
"Like atoms coming together to release their power, fusion researchers worldwide are joining forces to solve the world's energy crisis. Harnessing the power of fusing plasma as a reliable energy source for the power grid is no easy task, requiring global contributions."
"Triangularity refers to the shape of the plasma relative to the tokamak. The cross section of the plasma in a tokamak is typically shaped like the capital letter D. When the straight part of the D faces the center of the tokamak, it is said to have positive triangularity. When the curved part of the plasma faces the center, the plasma has negative triangularity."
""It's a potential game changer with attractive fusion performance and power handling for future compact fusion reactors," he said. "Negative triangularity has a lower level of fluctuations inside the plasma, but it also has a larger divertor area to distribute the heat exhaust."
The spherical shape of SMART should make it better at confining the plasma than it would be if it were doughnut shaped. The shape matters significantly in terms of plasma confinement. That is why NSTX-U, PPPL's main fusion experiment, isn't squat like some other tokamaks: the rounder shape makes it easier to confine the plasma. SMART will be the first spherical tokamak to fully explore the potential of a particular plasma shape known as negative triangularity."
continue reading
