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Plasma Energy Conversion Lab / Plasma Energy Research, Division of Energy Generation
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The lab uses electromagnetic waves to create and heat plasma, and explores the fundamentals of nuclear fusion.
AboutAbout the lab
Controlling plasma with electromagnetic waves
The Plasma Energy Conversion Lab conducts basic research on magnetically confined plasma for nuclear fusion.
By finely controlling the interaction between charged particles and electromagnetic fields, the lab generates and heats high-temperature plasma and drives current in it.
The lab also explores methods of injecting neutral particle beams from large ion sources to create high-density plasma and improve confinement.
The lab develops its own diagnostic instruments using microwaves and spectroscopy, and pursues both experiment and theory.
Key terms
- Electron cyclotron resonance heating
- A method of heating plasma by applying electromagnetic waves matched to the speed at which electrons gyrate in a magnetic field
- Neutral beam injection
- A method of injecting fast, electrically neutral atoms into plasma to heat it and drive current
- Zonal flow
- A band-like flowing structure that forms naturally within turbulence and influences plasma confinement
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Technology that controls the interaction between electromagnetic waves and charged particles with a high degree of precision will bring great benefits to humanity in the future. The lab works to improve the confinement performance of fusion plasma produced and heated by high-power electromagnetic waves and to understand the mechanisms behind it, while developing heating and current-drive systems and diagnostic instruments.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring Plasma with Electromagnetic Waves
Dolphins and bats emit ultrasonic waves and learn about their surroundings from the returning waves. On a similar principle, the lab sends electromagnetic waves into plasma and, from the information in the reflected waves, measures the density and fluctuations at the reflection point without touching it.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring Plasma Turbulence
Turbulence creating structures by itself is widely seen in nature, and the stripes of Jupiter are one example. Structures such as zonal flows also form inside plasma and can either improve or worsen confinement, so the lab works on measuring them.
*Illustrative imageHeating Plasma
There are several ways to heat plasma. The lab uses them selectively: passing a current through the plasma, applying electron cyclotron waves in the way a microwave oven heats food, and neutral beam injection, which fires fast hydrogen atoms into the plasma.
*Illustrative imageIgniting Plasma
The voltage of the superconducting tokamak JT-60SA is kept low, so there is a risk that the plasma will not ignite. The lab is developing a one-dimensional model to verify plasma ignition when it is assisted by electron cyclotron resonance heating.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Plasma Energy Conversion Lab consist of faculty members, secretaries, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorKazunobu Nagasaki
- Associate ProfessorShinji Kobayashi
- Assistant ProfessorShinichiro Inagaki
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Plasma globe 60th” Colin / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Measuring Plasma with Electromagnetic Waves: “Bottlenose Dolphin swimming in the Florida Bay. (b4a6f281-1be2-4c81-8140-fdcdb994b882)” NPS photo / Public domain (cropped)
- Measuring Plasma Turbulence: “Jupiter and the Great Red Spot - Juno Perijove 7” NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SwRI/Kevin M. Gill / Public domain (cropped)
- Heating Plasma: “Glowing Lava at Kilauea Vulcano4” Christoph Strässler / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Igniting Plasma: “MatchStickHead” Christian Fischer / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (High-Temperature Plasma Physics / Energy Generation Research Division, Complex Plasma Systems Research Lab): “Historical stellarator Wendelstein IIb, on display at IPP Greifswald” Siarhei Besarab / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Electromagnetics Engineering Lab): “17jila003 3d strontium atomic clock” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Microwave Energy Transmission Lab): “Solar power satellite sandwich or abascus concept” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Electromagnetic Energy Engineering Lab): “Cut-away version of an electric motor (1)” S.J. de Waard / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
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