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Promising new results from Alcator

JAN 01, 1976

New results from the MIT tokamak caused quite a stir when they were reported at the APS plasma‐physics division meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida in mid‐November. The experiment, known as “Alcator,” achieved a value for the Lawson number, (where N is the peak particle density and τ is confinement time) greater than 1013sec/cm3. This value for is five times greater than has been achieved in any other confinement experiment. It is generally believed that an of about 1014sec/cm3 and an ion temperature of about 6 keV must be achieved to reach breakeven conditions for a fusion plasma.

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Volume 29, Number 1

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