The LHD uses neutral beam injection, ion cyclotron radio frequency ( ICRF ), and electron cyclotron resonance heating ( ECRH ) to heat the plasma, much like conventional tokamaks.
12.
However thrust generation or magnetically separating neutral beams for electrical generation will probably only be useful if there is a practical continuous process for generating neutral plasma by nuclear reactions.
13.
The project plans to replace the microwave emitters that heat the plasma in their prototypes with neutral beam injection, in which electrically neutral deuterium atoms transfer their energy to the plasma.
14.
A neutral beam of H 3 can be formed from a beam of H 3 + ions passing through gaseous potassium, which donates an electron to the ion, forming K +.
15.
Factors that contributed to the significantly higher beta number include better vacuum conditions, a more powerful neutral beam injection, a lower toroidal field, a higher plasma pressure, and a lower magnetic pressure.
16.
This creates an electrically neutral beam of high energy hydrogen atoms, that can proceed in a straight line at near the speed of light to smash into its target and damage it.
17.
Notably, he developed the neutral beam injection technique; shooting a beam of high energy atoms into plasma to initiate fusion, as well as other methods of heating plasma stochastically in fusion reactors.
18.
Initial heating power will be 8 megawatt from neutral beam injection upgradeable to 24 MW, 6 MW from ICRH upgradeable to 12 MW, and at present undetermined heating power from ECRH and RF heating.
19.
Once inside the plasma the neutral beam transmits energy to the plasma by collisions as a result of which it becomes ionized and thus contained by the magnetic field thereby both heating and refuelling the reactor in one operation.
20.
Some of the intermediate hydrogen gas is accelerated towards the plasma by collisions with the charged beam while remaining neutral : this neutral beam is thus unaffected by the magnetic field and so shines through it into the plasma.
