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| The Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX) |
Fusion reactor designs call for a lithium blanket to surround the plasma. Fusion neutrons will react with the blanket to produce tritium that would be extracted and used as a fuel. In addition, a liquid lithium layer on the surface facing the plasma would be immune to the high heat loads and radiation fluxes that can damage solid wall materials. For the past several years, the Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade (CDX-U) has been devoted to investigations of plasma interactions with liquid lithium surfaces. Studies with plasmas in contact with a "pool" of liquid lithium have established that it has very desirable properties as a plasma-facing component in a tokamak. The Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX) is designed to extend these experiments with a liquid lithium plasma-facing surface on a solid conducting shell that completely encloses the discharge. Consequently, CDX-U is being rebuilt substantially to incorporate this feature and other elements that are required for the LTX research program, which is planned to begin in early 2007. |
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