What’s New

6 July 2015

ITER news digest for the period of 29 June 2015 to 6 July 2015.

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Featured (3)

Of interest (3)

Event (1)

Press (2)

Featured

R.J. Smits: "Fusion is at the core of Europe's long-term energy strategy"

A walk-through ASDEX Upgrade

In Russia, last toroidal field conductor jacketed

Overcoming the "mysterious barrier"

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a detailed model of the source of a puzzling limitation on fusion reactions. The findings, published in June in Physics of Plasmas, complete and confirm previous PPPL research and could lead to steps to overcome the barrier if the model proves consistent with experimental data. "We used to have correlation," said physicist David Gates, first author of the paper. "Now we believe we have causation." This work was supported by the DOE Office of Science.

At issue is a problem known as the "density limit" that keeps donut-shaped fusion facilities called tokamaks from operating at peak efficiency. This limit occurs when the superhot, charged plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions reaches a certain density and spirals apart in a flash of light, shutting down the reaction. Overcoming the limit could facilitate the development of fusion as a safe, clean and abundant source of energy for generating electricity.

Read the full article on the PPPL website.

Image: Magnetic island geometry showing the asymmetry effect that is crucial in determining the mechanism for the density limit. Reprinted with permission from Phys. Plasmas 22, 022514 (2015). Copyright 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=493

FuseCOM team meets in Finland

In June, a group of Communications Officers from fusion laboratories across Europe met in Finland for two days of exchange.

Representing the 29 research organizations and universities from 26 European countries plus Switzerland, the communicators from FuseCOM met for the first time on behalf of the newly built EUROfusion consortium to discuss European fusion communication.

EUROfusion, the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy, manages and funds European fusion research activities on behalf of Euratom, in accordance with the Roadmap to the realisation of fusion energy, which outlines the most efficient way to realize fusion electricity by 2050. It is the result of an analysis of the European Fusion Programme undertaken in 2012 by the Research laboratories within EUROfusion's predecessor agreement, the European Fusion Development Agreement, EFDA.

The FuseCOM members met in Finland, where they were hosted by Finland's Research Unit VTT. Through presentations and working groups, participants shared news from the research units across Europe, practical examples of communication work, and strategies for the future. Meeting organizer and head of EUROfusion's Communications Office, Petra Nieckchen, commented: "We have established a trusting network that is the very basis needed to reach our long-term goal: creating, with the network, a coherent European voice for fusion."

Learn more about FuseCOM here.

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=492

"Festival de Théorie" begins in Aix-en-Provence, France

The 8th edition of the Festival de Théorie opens on Monday 6 July in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Held every two years, the Festival organizes theory working groups on well-focused subjects in magnetized plasma physics and aims to foster interdisciplinary links between magnetic fusion, astrophysics, plasma physics and related fields.

The international meetings usually bring together 25 to 35 experts and about 80 younger researchers, including PhD students and post-docs. The Director Committee for this year's edition is chaired by ITER Organization Director-General Bernard Bigot. The scientific committee is chaired by Prof. P.H. Diamond (UCSD and NFRI) and co-chaired by Dr. X. Garbet (CEA).

The 2015 Festival de Théorie will run from 6 to 24 July 2015. The main topic is "Pathways to Relaxation." This includes — but is not limited to — reconnection events such as solar flares and general impulsive relaxation in astrophysics, sawteeth, Edge Localized Modes and edge relaxation phenomena in confined plasmas, Taylor relaxation, Potential Vorticity mixing dynamics and homogenization in fluids, and general aspects of constrained relaxation.

More information at the conference website.