In their ongoing quest to develop a range of methods for managing plasma so it can be used to generate electricity in a process known as fusion, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have shown how two old methods can be combined to provide greater flexibility.
For the first time, scientists have built a fusion experiment using permanent magnets, a technique that could show a simple way to build future devices for less cost and allow researchers to test new concepts for future fusion power plants.
PPPL researchers have determined the maximum density of uncharged particles at the edge of a plasma before certain instabilities become unpredictable. This is the first time such a level has been established for Lithium Tokamak Experiment-Beta. Knowing this level is a big step in their mission to prove lithium is the ideal choice for an inner-wall coating in a tokamak because it guides them toward the best practices for fueling their plasmas.
PPPL’s important work seeding the field of plasma physics was evident from the list of first authors in Physics of Plasmas 2023 Early Career Collection, which included four people from the Lab: Ben Isreali, Stephen Majeski, Ian Ochs and Willca Villafana.
On March 11, PPPL opened its new Quantum Diamond Lab, a space devoted to studying and refining the processes involved in using plasma, the electrically charged fourth state of matter, to create high-quality diamond material for quantum information science applications.
More than 120 people gathered for the 2024 Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) Workshop at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from Feb. 27-28. The event, which was sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), is a part of the INFUSE awards program that funds laboratories or universities so they can partner with private sector companies working on the science and technology solutions that will bring fusion energy to the power grid. To date, DOE has granted 90 awards, with most ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 for a 12-month project.
Scientists are using the imperfections in magnetic fields that confine a fusion reaction to improve and enhance the plasma in an approach outlined in a new paper in the journal Nature Communications. PPPL Physicist Seong-Moo Yang led the research team, which spans various institutions in the U.S. and South Korea. Yang says this is the first time any research team has validated a systematic approach to tailoring magnetic field imperfections to make the plasma suitable for use as a power source. These magnetic field imperfections are known as error fields.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are working on ways to improve thrusters for satellites operating in very low orbit around the Earth. The researchers believe they can make satellites that weigh less, last longer and cost less by creating thrusters that use the air around them instead of having to carry its own supply of fuel. PPPL’s diagnostics will be used to evaluate this innovative thruster concept and characterize key physical processes involved in its operation.
Fashioned from the same element found in sand and covered by intricate patterns, microchips power smartphones, augment appliances and aid the operation of cars and airplanes. Now, PPPL scientists are developing codes that will outperform current simulation techniques and aid the production of microchips using plasma.
A Princeton-led team composed of engineers, physicists, and data scientists from the University and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to predict — and then avoid — the formation of a specific plasma problem in real time.
Artificially intelligent software has been developed to enhance medical treatments that use jets of electrified gas known as plasma. Developed by researchers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the George Washington University, the computer code predicts the chemicals emitted by cold atmospheric plasma devices, which can be used to treat cancer and sterilize surfaces.
Four Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory staff members will participate in prestigious U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) leadership training programs.
Under the direction of principal engineer Yuhu Zhai, PPPL is building its new High-Field Magnet Test Facility, which will provide powerful magnets for scientific experiments to researchers at both PPPL and Princeton University, as well as private companies along the mid-Atlantic coast.
Emerging research from the Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) suggests it may be easier to use fusion as a power source if liquid lithium is applied to the internal walls of the device housing the plasma.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a new theoretical model explaining one way to make black silicon, an important material used in solar cells.
More than 120 staff and 80 students and interns from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) attended the American Physical Society’s Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP) Conference from Oct 30 to Nov. 3 in Denver.
Swooping magnetic fields that confine plasma in fusion facilities known as tokamaks could help improve the efficiency of complex machines that produce microchips. This innovation could lead to more powerful computers and smart phones, near-essential devices that make modern society possible.
Felix Parra Diaz, the head of the Theory Department at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, has been elected a 2023 Fellow of the American Physical Society
PPPL was selected to lead a DOE Energy Earthshot Research Center (EERC) as part of the Hydrogen Shot™, which aims to reduce the cost of hydrogen by 80%.
Profile of PPPL graduate Ian Ochs and his award-winning doctoral thesis.
Description of the three PPPL-led SciDAC collaborations that unite fusion scientists and and applied mathematicians to solve complex fusion problems through supercomputing.
An overview of recent developments for coping with damaging disruptions in doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion facilities.
Scientists have found a mathematical shortcut that could help harness fusion energy, a potential source of clean electricity that could mitigate floods, heat waves, and other rising effects of climate change.
Article describes the unprecedented six DOE-backed INFUSE partnerships awarded to PPPL.
Profile describes new role for plasma physicist Jongsoo Yoo and the high-profile magnetic reconnection device he oversees.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory confirms achievement of 100 million degree plasma, the heat required for commercial fusion energy production, in the UK Tokamak Energy's compact spherical ST40 tokamak.
Scientists have used a recently developed technique to improve predictions of the timing and intensity of the solar wind’s strikes, which sometimes disrupt telecommunications satellites and damage electrical grids.
Ensuring that countries abide by future nuclear arms agreements will be a vital task. Now, PPPL researchers have helped devise an automated way to ensure compliance.
Laszlo Horvath, an early career physicist at PPPL, is the winner of the 2022 Károly Simonyi Memorial Plaque from the Hungarian Nuclear Society.
Suying Jin, who is entering her sixth and planned final year as a graduate student in the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics, won Princeton University’s honorific Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Fellowship for the 2023-24 academic year.
PPPL hosted a workshop on fusion energy and nuclear nonproliferation at Princeton University on Jan. 25 and 26. Participants included representatives from government, national laboratories, Princeton University, other academic institutions, and private fusion developers.
PPPL scientists have advanced in discovering how to use ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves to peer back to the beginning of everything we know.
The first laboratory realization of the long-standing but never-before confirmed theory of the puzzling formation of planets, stars and supermassive black holes by swirling surrounding matter has been produced at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
Researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory uncover the long-hidden process that helps explain why the Sun's corona can be vastly hotter than the solar surface that emits it.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded PPPL funding of more than $12 million to work with laboratories around the world to accelerate the development of a pilot plant powered by the carbon-free fusion energy that drives the sun and stars and can counter climate change.
He has been named a member of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, which advises the director of the United States Office of Science on complex scientific and technical matters related to America’s fusion energy sciences research program.
Physicist Stefano Munaretto of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has received leadership roles in two DOE three-year awards.
PPPL scientists propose an explanation for the thermal quench, the sudden heat loss that precedes disruptions in doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion facilities.
Story describes a key step for designing lasers to ignite reactions.
Scientists at have conducted research showing that a PPPL-developed powder dropper can successfully drop boron powder into high-temperature plasma within tokamaks that have parts made of a heat-resistant material known as tungsten.
Close-up look at a counter-intuitive way to speed the arrival of carbon-free fusion energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Steve Cowley, PPPL’s director, were featured on the July 23 “CBS Saturday Morning.”
PPPL moved forward with plans to build the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center (PPIC), a new state-of-the-art office and laboratory building and the first new building on campus in 50 years. The project kicked off during a meeting with architects on July 8.
PPPL researchers have found a way to build powerful magnets smaller than before, aiding the design and construction of machines that could help the world harness the power of the sun to create electricity without producing greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
PPPL researchers have found that updating a mathematical model to include a physical property known as resistivity could lead to the improved design of doughnut-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks.
New finding could solve a paradox in spherical tokamak fusion experiments.
Story reveals a potentially critical issue for stellarator designers to avoid.
PPPL scientists have refined the use of magnetic fields to improve the performance of doughnut-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks. The improved technique protects internal parts from damage by instabilities and allows tokamaks to operate for longer without pausing.
PPPL scientists have uncovered critical new details about fusion facilities that use lasers to compress the fuel that produces fusion energy. The new data could help lead to the improved design of future laser facilities that harness the fusion process that drives the sun and stars.
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