Updated computer code improves prediction of particle motion in plasma experiments
Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - 13:02
in Physics & Chemistry
A computer code used by physicists around the world to analyze and predict tokamak experiments can now approximate the behavior of highly energetic atomic nuclei, or ions, in fusion plasmas more accurately than ever. The new capability, developed by physicist Mario Podestà at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), outfits the code known as TRANSP with a subprogram that simulates the motion that leads to the loss of energetic ions caused by instabilities in the plasma that fuels fusion reactions. The code, whose name is derived from the term "transport," is housed at PPPL.