Page 11 - Fundamentals of Magnetic Thermonuclear Reactor Design

Preface xix

FIGURE 1 Hydrogen plasma parameters achieved so far. At ignition, plasma-heating power
is equal to the thermonuclear reaction power. When a self-sustaining reaction is in progress, the
thermonuclear power equals the power of the energy loss.

1975 saw the development of the first Soviet–American tokamak-reactor
conceptual design. Three years later, the EC, Japan, the United States and USSR
jointly began elaboration of the International Tokamak Reactor (INTOR),
which was completed in 1988. The next stage of the international collabora-
tion in this field was designing and construction of the first experimental fusion
reactor ITER by a consortium run by China, the European Union, India, Japan,
Russia, Republic of Korea and the United States. The ITER launch will mark
a giant leap for humankind and a breakthrough in the technical advancement
of civilisation. Together with the Large Hadron Collider and the International
Space Station, it will offer a graphic example of how cross-border research co-
operation enables an effective (in scientific and socio-political terms) handling
of global challenges.