Tokamak foundation in USSR/Russia 1950–1990

Abstract

In the USSR, nuclear fusion research began in 1950 with the work of I.E. Tamm, A.D. Sakharov and colleagues. They formulated the principles of magnetic confinement of high temperature plasmas, that would allow the development of a thermonuclear reactor. Following this, experimental research on plasma initiation and heating in toroidal systems began in 1951 at the Kurchatov Institute. From the very first devices with vessels made of glass, porcelain or metal with insulating inserts, work progressed to the operation of the first tokamak, T-1, in 1958. More machines followed and the first international collaboration in nuclear fusion, on the T-3 tokamak, established the tokamak as a promising option for magnetic confinement. Experiments continued and specialized machines were developed to test separately improvements to the tokamak concept needed for the production of energy. At the same time, research into plasma physics and tokamak theory was being undertaken which provides the basis for modern theoretical work. Since then, the tokamak concept has been refined by a world-wide effort and today we look forward to the successful operation of ITER.

Massless Dirac fermions in two dimensions: Confinement in nonuniform magnetic fields

“…Inhomogeneous magnetic fields continue to play an important role in modern physics, from the historic Stern-Gerlach experiment [1] of 1922 to the post-World War II achievements in magnetic confinement of plasmas in tokamaks [2] and the more recent magnetic levitation of macroscopic objects [3].…”

Nuclear Fusion: Holy Grail of Energy

“…The tokamak, acronym for the Russian phrase toroidál'naja kámera s magnitnymi katúškami meaning toroidal chamber with magnetic coils, was designed in 1951 by Soviet physicists Andrei Sakharov and Igor Tamm [8]. It is a doughnut-shaped device in which the combination of two sets of magnetic coils, known as toroidal and poloidal field coils, creates a field in both vertical and horizontal directions.…”

Measuring national capability over big science’s multidisciplinarity: A case study of nuclear fusion research

“…The history of nuclear fusion consists of the footprints of major successes in tokamaks [28]. After the nuclear fusion reaction of hydrogen was identified as the source of solar energy in the 1920s [29], scientists began to study controlled thermonuclear fusion for sustainable energy production in the 1950s [30]. The tokamak is a device that magnetically confines hightemperature plasmas essential for steady thermonuclear reactions [31], and now it is the most dominant and actively studied device for nuclear fusion research [32].…”