Los Alamos scientists collaborated at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory TFTR
experiment. Our most recent emphasis was on documenting and understanding disruptions (the
sudden and unwanted termination of the plasma current and stored energy). These events are
a serious obstacle to building an eventual tokamak fusion reactor, as the energy released
to the walls of the vessel can be localized, and cause damage the reactor. As part of our
efforts to understand and prevent disruptions, we took high-speed movies of the plasma
using a digital intensified Kodak system, which we had recently mounted on a periscope
that views into the TFTR vessel.
 The 1000 frame per second Kodak EM1012 camera mounted on the side of the Bay P periscope, in the TFTR Test Cell basement. Other photos of the installation can be seen by clicking here. |
 Glen happy that the fast camera system is successfully reinstalled at PPPL from MIT. |
 Sample white light view of inner wall armor, shot 91893. To see a 70-frame MPEG movie clip at 250 frames per second (each frame exposed for 400 microseconds) of a TFTR shot in disruption (92191, 3/13/96), click here. For more detailed plasma movies, click here. |
 Wide-angle color view of the inside of TFTR. The carbon inner wall is a belt of armor. Note the man on the left. |
Co-workers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.
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Last update: Aug 15, 1997 by Glen Wurden, wurden@lanl.gov
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