Nuclear Fusion: Electron Thermal Transport Terminology

[Ryan Doucette]

I am an undergrad physics major in my final semester currently taking Intro to Thermodynamics. As a final project, each student must choose a topic related to thermodynamics that is more advanced than what is covered in the curriculum and write a paper and present our findings to the class on the chosen topic. My topic is the problem of heat loss in controlled nuclear fusion. I found several research papers related to electron thermal transport in the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX), but the terminology used is beyond what is covered in class and the texts that I found are far too dense for me to scan and have more than a vague understanding of the meaning of the terminology. If anyone could define the following terms such that a 4th year undergraduate student could understand, it would be greatly appreciated.

Kinetic Ballooning Mode Instability
Microtearing Mode Instability
Trapped Electron Mode Instability

Thanks!

 

[Vailanor]

Kinetic Ballooning Mode Instability: This is a type of instability that can occur in magnetically confined plasmas. It is caused by a mismatch between the pressure of the plasma and the magnetic field, which leads to a “ballooning” of the plasma in the direction of the magnetic field. This instability can lead to the loss of heat from the plasma.Microtearing Mode Instability: This is another type of instability that can occur in magnetically confined plasmas. It is caused by a mismatch between the density of the plasma and the magnetic field, which leads to small scale “tearing” of the magnetic field lines. This instability can also lead to the loss of heat from the plasma.Trapped Electron Mode Instability: This is yet another type of instability that can occur in magnetically confined plasmas. It is caused by a mismatch between the energy of the electrons and the magnetic field, which creates a “trapping” effect for the electrons. This trapping can cause the electrons to become unstable and result in heat loss from the plasma.