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ITER

A day in the life of

22 Oct 2018 - ITER Communication
Seven hundred people took part in the ITER Organization's latest Open Doors Day event on Saturday 20 October.
in_tokamak_bldg_small.jpg
The highlight of the tour was the visit of the Tokamak Building and a peek down into the 30-metre-wide pit where the fusion plasma will be ignited one day.
ITER opened its doors on a beautiful autumn day to the delight of 700 members of the public, students, staff and families. The highlight—as always—was gaining exceptional access to areas of the worksite that are usually cordoned off due to the pace of work on site and the density of contractors and equipment.
 
This time, visitors were accompanied by group of 50 through the cathedralesque galleries of the Tokamak Building and out to the central well where the ITER machine will be assembled.
 
To prepare for that visit, to understand the world-changing science that will take place in that space, guests that day had access to the ITER Visitors Centre and additional hands-on exhibits that were offered by partners Agence Iter France, local association Les Petits Debrouillards ("Little Problem Solvers"), and ITER's own tabletop science exhibit.
 
Open Doors Day is a biannual event hosted by the ITER Organization and the European agency for ITER, Fusion for Energy. On Saturday, 50 volunteers from the ITER Organization, Fusion for Energy, ITER's Management-as-Agent contractor MOMENTUM, and European contractors Engage, Apave and Dalkia were hosts for the day.
 
Scroll through the gallery below for scenes from the day.

Mounting excitement
Off the bus and on the way to the second stop of the tour, the Tokamak Building.
The big picture
The platform in front of the Visitors Centre is the perfect place to get a first impression and an introduction to all things ITER.
Make your own magnet
At the exhibit booth set up by local science association "Les petits debrouillards" (Little Problem Solvers), the youngsters enjoyed manufacturing and testing their own small magnet.
Marshmallows anyone?
ITER's Greg de Temmerman ran the ITER mini laboratory and used marshmallows to explain the phenomenon of vacuum that will be so important to the creation of plasma.
Get your questions answered
Before going on tour of the ITER worksite, visitors took in the exhibition displays. Volunteer staff were on hand to answer any questions.
The macro and the micro
The intricate details of the building's structure draw as much attention as the larger picture. Here, a close-up view of the rebar work inside the concrete wall.
Having a peek
The port cell openings in the circular concrete enclosure, the bioshield, are a perfect vantage point for peeking inside the Tokamak Pit. The first piece of machine equipment will be introduced in this area at the end of next month.
Giant magnets
Inside the European winding facility for poloidal field coils, the manufacturing of ITER's large ring-shaped magnets was on show. Too large for shipment, they have to be built on site.
Shared experience
The small pods in the Visitors Centre allow several viewers to enjoy videos at the same time in English or in French.
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