| Abstract: | The aim of nuclear fusion research is to reproduce on earth the energy generating process of the sun and derive energy from the fusion of atomic nuclei. This is to be done by confining the fuel, a low-density hydrogen plasma, in magnetic fields and heating it to high temperatures of over 100 million degrees. Research has made major progress on the way to a burning plasma. JET, the joint European experiment, is just a factor of 6 short of achieving plasma ignition. ITER, the test reactor now being planned in international cooperation, is intended to produce the first burning plasma providing energy over a long period. |
