Publisher's Synopsis
The tokamak is the principal tool in controlled fusion research. This is the first book on this subject; it provides an introduction developing into a reference work providing basic theory, definitions, and equations. The first chapter examines the place of the tokamak in fusion research and the requirements for working power generation. Following an introductory chapter on plasma physics, accounts are given of the basic equilibrium, stability, and confinement properties of the tokamak. Plasma heating methods and experimentally observed instabilities, together with the associated problems of plasma-wall interactions and diagnostic methods used in studying plasmas, are then dealt with. The author describes the principal tokamaks from around the world before providing an appendix on background mathematical and physical theory.
