Fusion reactor design

Mathematical noodling leads to new insights into an old fusion problem

A challenge to creating fusion energy on Earth is trapping the charged gas known as plasma that fuels fusion reactions within a strong magnetic field and keeping the plasma as hot and dense as possible for as long as possible. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have gained new insight into a common type of hiccup known as the sawtooth instability that cools the hot plasma in the center and interferes with the fusion reactions. These findings could help bring fusion energy closer to reality.

Mathematical noodling leads to new insights into an old fusion problem

A challenge to creating fusion energy on Earth is trapping the charged gas known as plasma that fuels fusion reactions within a strong magnetic field and keeping the plasma as hot and dense as possible for as long as possible. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have gained new insight into a common type of hiccup known as the sawtooth instability that cools the hot plasma in the center and interferes with the fusion reactions. These findings could help bring fusion energy closer to reality.

Groundbreaking University of Maryland physicist wins Princeton Presidential Fellowship to bring her skills to PPPL

Elizabeth Paul, developer of a groundbreaking method for optimizing magnetic confinement stellarator fusion facilities, has won a Princeton University Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to advance the method at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).

Groundbreaking University of Maryland physicist wins Princeton Presidential Fellowship to bring her skills to PPPL

Standout scholar invented pioneering method.

Permanent magnets far stronger than those on refrigerator doors could be a solution for delivering fusion energy

Permanent magnets akin to those used on refrigerators could speed the development of fusion energy – the same energy produced by the sun and stars.

In principle, such magnets can greatly simplify the design and production of twisty fusion facilities called stellarators, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. PPPL founder Lyman Spitzer Jr. invented the stellarator in the early 1950s.

Permanent magnets akin to those on fridges could speed the development of fusion energy

Novel idea for simplifying stellarator design.

Design of the W7-X fusion device enables it to overcome obstacles, scientists find

A key hurdle facing fusion devices called stellarators — twisty facilities that seek to harness on Earth the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars — has been their limited ability to maintain the heat and performance of the plasma that fuels those reactions. Now collaborative research by scientists at the U.S.

Design of the W7-X fusion device enables it to overcome obstacles, scientists find

A key hurdle facing fusion devices called stellarators — twisty facilities that seek to harness on Earth the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars — has been their limited ability to maintain the heat and performance of the plasma that fuels those reactions. Now collaborative research by scientists at the U.S.

The outlook for harnessing on Earth the fusion that powers the sun and stars

What does the future hold for the development of fusion energy as a safe, clean and virtually limitless source of power to generate electricity? To find out, the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment at Princeton University spoke with Steve Cowley, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University professor of astrophysical sciences, and Egemen Kolemen, a PPPL physicist and assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center.

Ten not-to-be-missed PPPL stories from 2019 — plus a triple bonus!

Arms control robots, a new national facility, and accelerating the drive to bring the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars to Earth. These far-reaching achievements at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) made 2019 another remarkable year. Research at the only national laboratory devoted to fusion and plasma physics — the state of matter that makes up 99 percent of the visible universe — broke new ground in varied fields as vast as astrophysics and as tiny as nanotechnology.

A Collaborative National Center for Fusion & Plasma Research

Fusion reactor design

Mathematical noodling leads to new insights into an old fusion problem

Mathematical noodling leads to new insights into an old fusion problem

Groundbreaking University of Maryland physicist wins Princeton Presidential Fellowship to bring her skills to PPPL

Groundbreaking University of Maryland physicist wins Princeton Presidential Fellowship to bring her skills to PPPL

Permanent magnets far stronger than those on refrigerator doors could be a solution for delivering fusion energy

Permanent magnets akin to those on fridges could speed the development of fusion energy

Design of the W7-X fusion device enables it to overcome obstacles, scientists find

Design of the W7-X fusion device enables it to overcome obstacles, scientists find

The outlook for harnessing on Earth the fusion that powers the sun and stars

Ten not-to-be-missed PPPL stories from 2019 — plus a triple bonus!

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Robert J Goldston

Dr. Michael C Zarnstorff

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Fusion reactor design

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