Introduction to Nuclear Fusion

Course guarantor:

Jana Brotánková

Lecturer:

Jana Brotánková

Tutor:

Jana Brotánková, Jan Čečrdle, Ondřej Ficker

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, Lawson criterion, triple product.

4) History and knowledge of hydrogen bombs based on backengineering.

5) Introduction to inertial confinement of fusion plasmas.

6) Introduction to magnetic confinement I: Pulsed and equilibrium systems. Open systems, instabilities and problems of the end losses.

7) Introduction to magnetic confinement of plasmas II: Closed systems, instabilities and anomalous diffusion.

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

9) Experimental facilities: Tokamaks including the ITER project, Stellarators, pinches and other magnetic confinement facilities. Tokamak control.

10) Heating of the high-temperature plasmas, real-time control

11) Diagnostics of the high-temperature plasmas, safety and security

12) Fusion technology and future fusion power plant: overview of main missions in the present research

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, 2nd edtition. Elsevier 2012 ISBN 9780123846563

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

Recommended references:

[3] J. Scheffel and P. Brunsell, Fusion Physics – introduction to the physics behind fusion energy, KTH Stockholm 2007

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

Note:

Time-table for winter semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Fyzikální inženýrství - Fyzika plazmatu a termojaderné fúze (PS)
• Physical Engineering - Plasma Physics and Thermonuclear Fusion (PS)