Advanced Projects

 

 

 

The Advanced Projects department pursues exciting emerging research areas in the field of plasma physics and the associated sciences relevant to PPPL’s mission.

 

 

 

A History of Possibilities


Lyman Spitzer, founder of the Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), originated the concept of the stellarator in the 1950s. These fusion devices, shaped like a coiled DNA double-helix molecule, confine plasma using twisty magnets that prevent the hot subatomic particles from escaping. Now, PPPL collaborates with stellarator projects all over the world, contributing its expertise with plasma diagnostics, or sensors, fueling, and high-performance computing.

Lyman Spitzer

Lyman Spitzer

Current Stellarator Experiments

W7-X

Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Tino Schulz - Public Relations Department, Max-Planck-Institut

Large Helical Device(LHD)
MUSE

Advanced Diagnostics

3D render of the JT-60SA joint international fusion experiment
WEST
3D render of the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST)