Introduction to nuclear fusion

Lecturer:

Jan Mlynář (gar.)

Tutor:

Jan Mlynář (gar.)

Supervisor:

Department of Physics

Synopsis:

Criteria for fusion ignition, fusion in stars, priniciples of plasma confinement in magnetic field (mirrors, pinches, stellarators, tokamaks), principles of inertial plasma confinement, alternative concepts, present fusion research facilities and project (including ITER), plasma heating and control, fusion technology, future fusion power plants

Requirements:

basic course of physics, electrodynamics

Syllabus of lectures:

1)Fusion reactions in the framework of nuclear physics

2)Thermonuclear fusion reactions in stars, gravitational confinement, life cycles of stars, nucleosynthesis

3)Conditions for fusion ingition on the Earth. Hydrogen bombs.

4)Principles of magnetic confinement: Pulsed and equilibrium systems. Open systems, instabilities and problems of the end losses.

5)Principles of magnetic confinement of plasmas: Closed systems, instabilities and anomalous diffusion.

6)Principles of inertial confinement of fusion plasmas.

7)Alternative attempts towards mastering the fusion power. Muon catalysis, „cold fusion“, „bubble fusion“ etc

8)Experimental facilities: Tokamaks including the ITER project, Stellarators, pinches and other magnetic confinement facilities

9)Heating of the high-temperature plasmas

10)Control and diagnostics of the high-temperature plasmas, Inertial fusion

11)Fusion technology: overview of main missions in the present research

12)Fusion power plant. Motivation, key challenges, existing studies, environmental impact, competitivity studies. Long-term perspective.

Syllabus of tutorials:

1)Fusion reactions in the framework of nuclear physics

2)Thermonuclear fusion reactions in stars, gravitational confinement, life cycles of stars, nucleosynthesis

3)Conditions for fusion ingition on the Earth. Hydrogen bombs.

4)Principles of magnetic confinement: Pulsed and equilibrium systems. Open systems, instabilities and problems of the end losses.

5)Principles of magnetic confinement of plasmas: Closed systems, instabilities and anomalous diffusion.

6)Principles of inertial confinement of fusion plasmas.

7)Alternative attempts towards mastering the fusion power. Muon catalysis, „cold fusion“, „bubble fusion“ etc

8)Experimental facilities: Tokamaks including the ITER project

9)Experimental facilities: Stellarators, pinches and other magnetic confinement facilities

10)Heating of the high-temperature plasmas

11)Control and diagnostics of the high-temperature plasmas

12)Experimental facilities: Inertial fusion

13)Fusion technology: overview of main missions in the present research

14)Fusion power plant.

Study Objective:

Knowledge: to learn the basic of physics of nuclear fusion

Skills: application of knowledge to solve problems of physics of thermonuclear fusion

Study materials:

Key references:

[1] G McCracken, P E Stott: Fusion - the energy of the universe. Elsevier 2005 ISBN 012481851X

[2] C M Braams, P E Stott: Nuclear Fusion, Half a Century of Magnetic Confinement Fusion Research, IoP 2002, ISBN 0750307056

Recommended references:

[3] A A Harms et al: Principles of Fusion Energy, World Scientific Publ. 2000, ISBN 981-02-4335-9

Note:

Time-table for winter semester 2011/2012:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2011/2012:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans: