The United Kingdom both maintains and operates the Joint
European Torus (JET) at Culham on behalf of its European partners as well
as actively participating in the JET fusion research programme. British experts,
together with their colleagues from all over Europe and from around the world,
explore fusion as a safe, clean, and virtually limitless energy source for
future generations.
Fusion powers the sun and stars. In order to release fusion energy on Earth, plasma (fully ionised gas) must be kept under extreme temperatures. JET is one of several fusion experiments in the world where physicists and engineers are attempting to produce, confine and characterise
plasmas at hundreds of millions of degrees.
What makes JET different is that it is the largest magnetic
confinement fusion research facility in the world. It has also a unique
capability for operating with the future reactor fuel, tritium, and JET holds
the world record of 16 MW fusion power. JET is ideal for testing plasma facing
materials as well as testing heating prototypes and diagnostic prototypes under
realistic fusion conditions.
As part of the European
endeavour in fusion in general, the JET scientific programme is implemented
and co-ordinated by EFDA (European Fusion Development Agreement). The EFDA
associate member in the UK is
UKAEA Culham Division. Their webpage: www.fusion.org.uk/ gives
detailed information on the UK's national fusion programme, which comprises
experimental work on MAST (Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak) and theoretical studies:
computer modelling and materials research. For further details please contact
us.
The exceptional scientific results of JET together with
expertise gained in the collective use of the JET facility have allowed Europe
to play a key role in plans for the larger, globally-funded ITER facility that
aims to produce a massive 500-700MW of fusion power. ITER is to be built
in the EU candidate site, Cadarache, in Southern France. Fusion is one
of the most significant and promising scientific missions pursued by
the UK and its experts.
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Many nationalities work in the JET control room
A split image of the inside of the JET torus, showing the plasma
MAST: The Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak, operating in UKAEA Culham Division
Photograph of MAST Plasma
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