Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik
Encyclopedia
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...
for the investigation of plasma physics, with the aim of working towards fusion power
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
. The institute also works on surface physics, also with focus on problems of fusion power.
The IPP is an institute of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, part of the European Fusion Program (Euratom), and an associated member of the Helmholtz Association.
The IPP has two sites: Garching
Garching bei München
Garching bei München or Garching is a city in Bavaria, Germany near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments. It became a city on 14 September 1990.-Location:...
near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(founded 1960) and Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
(founded 1994), both in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
It owns several large devices, namely
- the experimental tokamakTokamakA tokamak is a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus . Achieving a stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the torus in a helical shape...
ASDEX UpgradeASDEX UpgradeASDEX Upgrade is a divertor tokamak, that went into operation at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching in 1991...
(in operation since 1991) - the experimental stellaratorStellaratorA stellarator is a device used to confine a hot plasma with magnetic fields in order to sustain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction. It is one of the earliest controlled fusion devices, first invented by Lyman Spitzer in 1950 and built the next year at what later became the Princeton Plasma...
Wendelstein 7-AS (in operation until 2002) - the experimental stellarator Wendelstein 7-XWendelstein 7-XWendelstein 7-X is an experimental stellarator currently being built in Greifswald, Germany by the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik , which will be completed by 2015. It is a further development of Wendelstein 7-AS...
(under construction) - a tandem accelerator
It also cooperates with the ITER
ITER
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project, which is currently building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in the south of France...
and JET
Joint European Torus
JET, the Joint European Torus, is the largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment worldwide currently in operation. Its main purpose is to open the way to future nuclear fusion experimental tokamak reactors such as ITER and :DEMO....
projects.