Compact Power: The promise of spherical tokamaks
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a U.S. Dept. of Energy national laboratory managed by Princeton University
Spherical tokamaks may be at the forefront of a transformative shift in fusion energy, addressing the challenges of scaling fusion for commercial use. At the recent STEPtoFusion event in the U.K., PPPL Director Steve Cowley spoke about the promise of the spherical tokamak, a more compact and efficient alternative to the traditional doughnut-shaped design.
Used in PPPL’s National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U), this spherical shape may offer unique advantages by sustaining high-pressure plasmas with less energy at lower costs. Cowley highlighted how the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) program, a U.K.-led initiative, is working to build a prototype fusion power plant by the late 2030s. This effort aims to demonstrate net energy output and pave the way for the world’s first fusion-powered electricity.
By embracing the spherical tokamak, researchers hope to overcome the limitations of conventional designs, which tend to be large and costly. It is one thing to generate electricity from fusion and another to do it at a cost the market will bear.
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Remembering Bill Dorland
“He was a giant of computational physics. We have lost a luminous friend and someone who inspired us all every day.” – Steve Cowley, PPPL Director
Bill Dorland, the first associate laboratory director for computational science and Princeton alumnus, passed away Sept. 22.?
Dorland recently received the prestigious 2024 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics for his revolutionary work with PPPL’s Greg Hammett on turbulence in plasma. The work has significantly impacted research into astrophysical plasmas and the magnetically confined plasmas used in fusion experiments. Dorland’s home institution was the University of Maryland, where he was a faculty member for 26 years.
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A collection of journal articles with first authors from PPPL published in September 2024.
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PPPL is mastering the art of using plasma — the fourth state of matter — to solve some of the world's toughest science and technology challenges. Nestled on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, New Jersey, our research ignites innovation in a range of applications including fusion energy, nanoscale fabrication, quantum materials and devices, and sustainability science. The University manages the Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the nation’s single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Feel the heat at energy.gov/science and pppl.gov.
Professor Emerita at Lawrence Technological University
5 个月Still waiting for fusion to solve our energy needs. In 1965 when I was a senior high school student my teacher suggested that I do my science project on plasma. Of course he meant blood plasma. Not knowing what plasma was, I looked it up in our encyclopedia Britanica year book—not sure why I looked there—and to my delight discovered the 4th state of matter. There was very little information on it then so I wrote to the Oakridge National Laboratory stating I wanted to make a model of a Stellarator. To my amusement now, they wrote back stating the building of a model was rather ambitious! Of course I couldn’t make a working model (physicists are still working on expanding the life of plasma beyond a few seconds), but I did fashion a torus out of some wide fabic tubing with metal wires wound around it and added other wires to simulate how to create a uniform magnetic field to contain the plasma. A couple of years ago at a Swiss U.S. Energy Innovation Days tour at a university in Lausanne, I was able to finally see a Tokmak. So cool (hot!)!
Driven and passionate Life Sciences Community member driven to make a difference in the lives of patients. One day and one patient at a time.
5 个月So cool seeing this, I remember 1000 years ago attending an event surrounding TFTR where participants who worked on the project got to dot the eye of a statue to celebrate a milestone.