Physics Colloquium 29th January 2016 delivered by Professor Per Helender The Princeton astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer famously figured out how a magnetic field can be used to confine a fully ionised plasma in steady state. His solution, the so-called stellarator, involves a counter-intuitive twisting of the field without employing an electric current, and is mathematically related to the Berry phase in quantum mechanics. Six decades later, Spitzer’s idea is put to a billion-euro test in the Wendelstein 7-X experiment of the Max Planck Society. This talk will describe some basic physics and mathematics underpinning stellarators, including the use of “hidden symmetries” to improve plasma confinement. An overview will also be given of Wendelstein 7-X, which after a decade of construction has just started operation. If successful, it should produce steady-state plasmas under conditions suitable for extrapolation to a fusion reactor. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Physics Colloquium 29th January 2016 delivered by Professor Per Helender The Princeton astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer famously figured out how a magnetic field can be used to confine a fully ionised plasma in steady state. His solution, the so-called stellarator, involves a counter-intuitive twisting of the field without employing an electric current, and is mathematically related to the Berry phase in quantum mechanics. Six decades later, Spitzer’s idea is put to a billion-euro test in the Wendelstein 7-X experiment of the Max Planck Society. This talk will describe some basic physics and mathematics underpinning stellarators, including the use of “hidden symmetries” to improve plasma confinement. An overview will also be given of Wendelstein 7-X, which after a decade of construction has just started operation. If successful, it should produce steady-state plasmas under conditions suitable for extrapolation to a fusion reactor. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England &amp; Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Stellarators, Fusion Energy and the Wendelstein 7-X Experiment

The Department of Physics public lecture series. An exciting series of lectures about the research at Oxford Physics take place throughout the academic year. Looking at topics diverse as the creation of the universe to the science of climate change. 

Features episodes previously published as:
(1) 'Oxford Physics Alumni': "Informal interviews with physics alumni at events, lectures and other alumni related activities."
(2) 'Physics and Philosophy: Arguments, Experiments and a Few Things in Between': "A series which explores some of the links between physics and philosophy, two of the most fundamental ways with which we try to answer our questions about the world around us. A number of the most pertinent topics which bridge the disciplines are discussed - the nature of space and time, the unpredictable results of quantum mechanics and their surprising consequences and perhaps most fundamentally, the nature of the mind and how far science can go towards explaining and understanding it. Featuring interviews with Dr. Christopher Palmer, Prof. Frank Arntzenius, Prof. Vlatko Vedral, Dr. David Wallace and Prof. Roger Penrose."

Education

The Department of Physics public lecture series. An exciting series of lectures about the research at Oxford Physics take place throughout the academic year. Looking at topics diverse as the creation of the universe to the science of climate change. Features episodes previously published as: (1) 'Oxford Physics Alumni': "Informal interviews with physics alumni at events, lectures and other alumni related activities." (2) 'Physics and Philosophy: Arguments, Experiments and a Few Things in Between': "A series which explores some of the links between physics and philosophy, two of the most fundamental ways with which we try to answer our questions about the world around us. A number of the most pertinent topics which bridge the disciplines are discussed - the nature of space and time, the unpredictable results of quantum mechanics and their surprising consequences and perhaps most fundamentally, the nature of the mind and how far science can go towards explaining and understanding it. Featuring interviews with Dr. Christopher Palmer, Prof. Frank Arntzenius, Prof. Vlatko Vedral, Dr. David Wallace and Prof. Roger Penrose."

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Stellarators, Fusion Energy and the Wendelstein 7-X Experiment

Stellarators, Fusion Energy and the Wendelstein 7-X Experiment

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