Status of the Tokamak program

Abstract

During the past two decades, the tokamak program has made significant advances. As a result of these advances, the program has expanded, and construction is nearly completed of large facilities including the U.S. Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), that are capable of achieving energy breakeven in the plasma. Design work is under way on the next application phase, exemplified by the U.S. Fusion Engineering Device (FED) and the IAEA INTOR programs. There are many excellent reviews [1]-[5] that give a broad history of the evolution of the tokamak program. In addition, reviews are available that give detailed descriptions of individual tokamak elements. This paper reviews the status of the tokamak program, concentrating on recent advances and areas important to the further advancement of the tokamak concept.