Home
The Machine
The Science
The Organization
The Project
Glossary
Contact
  

The Tokamak

Move your mouse over the image of the ITER Tokamak to view additional information for individual systems.

ITER - The World's Largest Tokamak

ITER is based on the 'tokamak' concept of magnetic confinement, in which the plasma is contained in a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel. The fuel - a mixture of Deuterium and Tritium, two isotopes of Hydrogen - is heated to temperatures in excess of 150 million°C, forming a hot plasma. Strong magnetic fields are used to keep the plasma away from the walls; these are produced by superconducting coils surrounding the vessel, and by an electrical current driven through the plasma.