Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Seminar

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A Reactor that Spins: The Centrifugally Confined Mirror

Speaker: Ian Abel, University of Maryland, College Park

Location: Warren Weaver Hall 905

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019, 11 a.m.

Synopsis:

Mirror machines have been researched since the earliest days of the fusion program. Classical axisymmetric mirrors are appealing because of their simple magnetic geometry, but are unable to provide the required confinement and stability for a fusion reactor. In this talk we revisit the axisymmetric mirror, and show that by inducing supersonic rotation in
the confined plasma these problems are cured. We discuss the plasma physics behind these results, and the practicality of inducing such rotation. Throughout, the possibilities for this configuration scaling to a fusion reactor are discussed.