Article
Article
Magnetic confinement fusion
Article By:
Boozer, Allen H. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.397125
A technology for generating power from nuclear fusion in which strong magnetic fields forcefully contain a hydrogen plasma raised to temperatures and pressures that support the fusion of deuterium or tritium nuclei. The magnetic confinement approach to nuclear-fusion energy production has been actively pursued in recent decades through more than a dozen major projects around the world. The great challenge to physicists and engineers is to develop systems that can sustainably produce more energy than they consume in operation. This approach to power generation stands in distinction to other, competing nuclear fusion technologies under development, including inertial confinement fusion and muon-catalyzed fusion. See also: Deuterium; Inertial confinement fusion; Muon-catalyzed fusion; Nuclear fusion; Tritium
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