X marks the spot: Researchers confirm novel method for controlling plasma rotation
Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - 12:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Rotation is key to the performance of salad spinners, toy tops, and centrifuges, but recent research suggests a way to harness rotation for the future of mankind's energy supply. In papers published in Physics of Plasmas in May and Physical Review Letters this month, Timothy Stoltzfus-Dueck, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), demonstrated a novel method that scientists can use to manipulate the intrinsic - or self-generated - rotation of hot, charged plasma gas within fusion facilities called tokamaks.