Stability and Transport Processes in Tokamak Plasmas

Tokamak experiments have made dramatic progress over the past two decades, and today plasma parameters are nearing the values needed for a fusion reactor. (See the article by J. Geoffrey Cordey, Robert J. Goldston and Ronald R. Parker on page 22.) In November 1991 the first deuterium-tritium experiments in the Joint European Torus in Abingdon, England, generated a peak fusion power of almost 2 megawatts and a total energy release of 2 megajoules in a 2-second pulse. Concomitant progress has been made in understanding the basic physics of tokamak plasmas; this was made possible by major developments in plasma science, nonlinear theory, plasma diagnostic capabilities and supercomputer calculations.