Food for thought on plasma diagnostics

Fusion Science and Technology (FS&T), edited by Nermin Uckan, has published a special issue (February 2008) devoted to high-temperature plasma diagnostics on magnetic fusion energy research. "This is the fruit of the labour of many researchers over a period of two and a half years" said Alan Costley, who works in the ITER Organization and who served as a guest editor for the issue along with Dave Johnson of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. "This is the most comprehensive collection of articles ever published on plasma diagnostics. The articles were written by established experts, all practitioners in the field, and through them this edition is connected directly to the cutting edge of research in plasma diagnostics."

The review presents the basics of modern magnetic fusion plasma diagnostics generously illustrated with examples of state of the art applications. It also has forwarding looking sections; in particular, the issues and challenges associated with preparing diagnostics for the control and diagnosis of a burning plasma experiment, and especially ITER, are included. It will serve both as an introduction to new graduates entering the field and as a comprehensive resource for experienced fusion researchers and is expected to be of long-lasting value to the fusion community.

For further information on obtaining access to this issue or other tokamak special issues, contact Nermin Uckan (@email) or visit the FS&T journal site for table of contents and abstract of papers [individual and library subscribers can access the full text articles here.