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Open Doors Day

Back together again

20 Jun 2022 - Yuya Sano
After more than two years, ITER has resumed a tradition that dates back to 2007—Open Doors Day. On Saturday 18 June, more than 50 "volunteers," staff and contractors of the ITER Organization, the European agency for ITER, Fusion for Energy, and ITER Construction Manager-as-Agent MOMENTUM, welcomed 800 people to share in the latest progress of ITER construction.
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In the Assembly Hall, visitors had the opportunity to see ITER vacuum vessel sectors in different stages of pre-assembly. They agreed that actually standing in front of the components, as opposed to seeing them in pictures, brought home the true scale of the ITER device.
Schoolchildren, students, ITER staff and their families, members of the public—including from such far away places as Thailand, Venezuela, and Brazil—braved the scorching heat to have the opportunity to learn more about ITER science, machine assembly, and manufacturing. In the European magnet winding facility on the platform, visitors were walked through the steps of transforming coiled spools of superconductor into the large ring magnets that girdle the ITER machine; inside the climate-controlled Assembly Hall, they saw two of the subsections of the ITER plasma chamber in various stages of equipment and pre-assembly and a whole host of mammoth tools created especially to handle them.  

The visitors were passionate about what they saw. "What impresses us the most is the broad participation in this project—it seems the intelligence of the world is coming together in ITER! We were curious to see that expressed during the visit and we haven't been disappointed," said one French senior.

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There was something for everyone: detailed explanations for the adults, pieces to touch and gifts for the younger generation. In the Poloidal Field Coil Winding Facility, Europe is finalizing the last two ring-shaped magnets for the ITER Tokamak.
A younger visitor was fascinated by the components on display, agreeing that the building blocks of the poloidal field coils (the double pancakes) actually look like pancakes and comparing the vacuum vessel sectors to large ears... or other larger but similarly smooth and rounded parts of human anatomy.

Inside of the ITER Visitors Centre, guests for the day were offered explicative videos, a virtual reality simulation and—most of all—the explanations of dozens of ITER scientists, engineers and project managers. Several exhibits for children were also popular, including marshmallow-shrinking vacuum experiments and a discovery truck set up by the local scientific association Les Petits Débrouillards (The little crafty ones).

For this first "in person" Open Door Day since September 2019, the enthusiasm was intact on both sides. The ITER "volunteers" enjoyed showcasing the major operations that have been performed during this more-than-two-year intermission, and the public could hardly believe how much progress had been accomplished despite the constraints of the pandemic. All in all, this 16th edition of the ITER Open Doors Day felt like a happy reunion.

Can you think of a more spectacular background, for a family selfie, than a 1,250-tonne sector module in the early phase of pre-assembly?
Whether one works directly for the ITER Organization, a Domestic Agency or a contractor, there is pride in being involved in ITER. Here, an employee from CNIM (the European Domestic Agency contractor that manufactures 4 out of the 6 giant ring-shaped coils that circle the machine gives a tour of the facility.
The precision and details of the ITER Tokamak mockup in the Visitors Building give a perfect idea of the complexity of the machine. "Are you sure it will work?" some ask...
Like on a fairground
Like on a fairground, it was sometimes difficult to chose between all the different attractions the Open Door Day organizers had planned... Here, a little boy has obviously seen enough of the helium inlet mockups and wishes to go straight to the cold testing chamber.
Visiting ITER on Open Door Day provides the public with a unique opportunity to discuss with the very people who are building the machine and that know its every nook and cranny. And this makes for a fascinating experience...
A microwave oven, a small party balloon, a marshmallow ... that's all one needs to create a plasma or show the strange effects of vacuum. Some engineers and physicists have become experts at using everyday objects to explain the most complex concepts.
3D models are an indispensable tool for design and engineering activities. They can also offer the public the experience of a "Fantastic Voyage" deep inside the one-million-component ITER Tokamak.
One doesn't need a 20-billion-euro machine to experience the magic of plasmas. These "plasma ball lamps," available for a dozen euros, provide a good introduction to the chaotic behaviour of the fourth state of matter.
Changing lights
The Tokamak mockup is a light show in itself, with shifting and changing colours highlighting the different components of the largest and most complex fusion device ever designed.
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