Fusion glossary
C
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, a multidisciplinary research organization. CEA Cadarache, next to ITER, is home to the Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research IRFM and the WEST tokamak.
Part of the magnet system in ITER, the central solenoid acts like a large transformer, allowing a powerful current to be induced in the ITER plasma and maintained during long plasma pulses.
Control system that provides the interface “language” for over 30 ITER plant systems.
The process during which plant or reactor components and systems, after construction, are made operational and verified to be in accordance with design assumptions and performance criteria.
Restriction of a hot plasma to a given volume for as long as possible through magnets and pinch effects.
The time the plasma is maintained at a temperature above the critical ignition temperature. To yield more energy from fusion than has been invested to heat the plasma, the plasma must be held up to this temperature for some minimum length of time, calculated from scaling laws.
Usually refers to the cooling period necessary to remove heat from a large superconducting magnet system to lower the temperature to the operating point.
The cooling water system provides for the rejection of heat from a variety of ITER systems and consists of the tokamak cooling water system, the component cooling water system, the chilled water system, and the heat rejection system.
Coils whose purpose is to compensate small errors in the confining magnetic field arising from fabrication misalignments.
Term applied to substances and materials at very low temperatures (below -150 °C).
The ITER plant used to liquify helium and nitrogen to cool magnets, thermal shields, vacuum pumping panels, etc.
A vacuum pump system using panels cooled by liquid helium to trap condensable gases from the plasma.
A vacuum vessel built around a superconducting tokamak, capable of being evacuated at room temperature, which provides thermal insulation to maintain the magnets at low temperature.
A means for producing the toroidal plasma current.