Plasmas consist of charged particles—positive nuclei and negative electrons—that can be shaped and confined by magnetic forces. Like iron filings in the presence of a magnet, particles in the plasma will follow magnetic field lines.
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How strong is the magnetic field in a tokamak?
13 tesla
It will produce a field of 13 tesla, equivalent to 280,000 times the Earth’s magnetic field.
Does plasma have a magnetic field?
Plasmas consist of charged particles—positive nuclei and negative electrons—that can be shaped and confined by magnetic forces. Like iron filings in the presence of a magnet, particles in the plasma will follow magnetic field lines.
What does a tokamak do?
A tokamak is an experimental device that creates a nuclear fusion reaction, which in turn produces energy to heat water and produce steam that drives turbines to generate electricity.
How does plasma behave in a magnetic field?
As the ions in the plasma are charged (the plasma is so hot all the negatively-charged electrons are stripped off the atoms, leaving them with a positive charge) they respond to magnetic fields.
How plasma is formed in tokamak?
The heart of a tokamak is its doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber. Inside, under the influence of extreme heat and pressure, gaseous hydrogen fuel becomes a plasma—a hot, electrically charged gas.
How hot is a tokamak?
150 million degrees Celsius
The temperatures inside the ITER Tokamak must reach 150 million degrees Celsius—or ten times the temperature at the core of the Sun—in order for the gas in the vacuum chamber to reach the plasma state and for the fusion reaction to occur.
Can plasma be controlled with magnets?
Because plasmas are so hot, the only way to control them is using magnets. Electricity and magnetism are very closely related (see electromagnets). This means that moving charges, such as the electrons in a plasma, can behave as a magnet and be affected by a magnetic field.
How does a tokamak produce electricity?
Inside a tokamak, the energy produced through the fusion of atoms is absorbed as heat in the walls of the vessel. Just like a conventional power plant, a fusion power plant will use this heat to produce steam and then electricity by way of turbines and generators.
How much power does a tokamak use?
The world record for fusion power is held by the European tokamak JET. In 1997, JET produced 16 MW of fusion power from a total input heating power of 24 MW (Q=0.67). ITER is designed to produce a ten-fold return on energy (Q=10), or 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input heating power.
How is energy extracted from a tokamak?
The neutrons will be absorbed by the surrounding walls of the tokamak, where their kinetic energy will be transferred to the walls as heat. In ITER, this heat will be captured by cooling water circulating in the vessel walls and eventually dispersed through cooling towers.
Where is tokamak located?
France
Construction of the ITER complex in France started in 2013, and assembly of the tokamak began in 2020….Others:
| Device type | Tokamak |
| Location | Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France |
| Technical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Major radius | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
| Plasma volume | 840 m3 |
How does tokamak not melt?
Fusion powers the sun by forcing hydrogen atoms to combine into helium and releasing enormous amounts of energy. A tokamak uses strong magnetic fields to confine a plasma that is heated above 200 million ℃, maximizing the efficiency of hydrogen isotope fusion.