Better than a Donut: The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) began operations in February this year at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's (PPPL's) D-Site, taking advantage of some of the existing equipment and infrastructure that supported the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor. NSTX will produce a plasma that is shaped like a sphere with a hole through its center, different from the "donut" shape of the Tokamak. This spherical configuration may have several advantagesa major one being the ability to confine a higher plasma pressure for a given magnetic field. Since the amount of fusion power produced is proportional to the square of the plasma pressure, the spherical torus concept could play an important role in the development of smaller and more economical fusion reactors.
"NSTX was designed and built on knowledge generated over the last decade, including from experiments on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR)," says NSTX project director Masayuki Ono. "TFTR demonstrated that fusion works, that it gives off power and functions as expected. We now need to demonstrate that fusion power can be generated more efficiently, so that it can become a practical energy source."
The NSTX was designed and built in a collaborative effort between PPPL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Columbia University, and the University of Washington in Seattle. A national team of scientist from 14 institutions was formed recently to carry out research on NSTX, which is supported by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.
Contacts: Project Director Masayuki Ono, PPPL, (609) 243-2105, mono@pppl.gov; and Program Director Martin Peng, ORNL, (609)243-2305, mpeng@pppl.gov. For photos and more information, see the NSTX project website: http://fileroom.pppl.gov/nstxhome/index.shtml