Scientists have performed computer simulations confirming a technique that prevents the production of unhelpful electromagnetic waves, boosting the heat put into fusion plasma.
Heating plasma to the ultra-high temperatures needed for fusion reactions requires more than turning the dial on a thermostat. Scientists consider multiple methods, one of which involves injecting electromagnetic waves into the plasma, the same process that heats food in microwave ovens. But when they produce one type of heating wave, they can sometimes simultaneously create another type of wave that does not heat the plasma, in effect wasting energy.
The team, which included researchers from General Atomics who use the DIII-D tokamak fusion facility, determined that positioning a metal grate known as a Faraday screen at a slight five-degree slant with respect to the antenna producing the heating waves, also known as helicon waves, stops the production of the slow modes.
In the future, the scientists plan to increase their understanding of how to prevent slow modes by running computer simulations that consider more of the plasma's properties and factor in more information about the antenna.
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