Mirror Fusion Test Facility
Encyclopedia
The Mirror Fusion Test Facility, or MFTF, was an experimental magnetic confinement fusion
device built using the magnetic mirror
, or so-called "yin-yang" design. It was designed and built at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL), one of the primary research centers for mirror fusion devices. The project was canceled just before operation was to start.
Following on from the earlier Baseball II device, the facility was originally a similar system in which the confinement area was located between two horseshoe-shaped "mirrors". During construction, however, the success of the Tandem Mirror Experiment ("TMX") led to a redesign to insert a solenoid
area between two such magnets, dramatically improving confinement time from a few milliseconds to over one second.
Most of the fusion power would be produced in the long solenoid, the yin-yang magnets serving only to dam up the ends in order to maintain good plasma confinement in the solenoid. Limited to break-even energy balance, the magnetic mirror endcaps actually consume power, but much less than that produced in a solenoid of sufficient length. The new version, officially MFTF-B, started construction in 1977 and was completed in 1986, on the very day the project was canceled by the Reagan administration Department of Energy. No experiments were performed. Rollbacks in fusion research funding dramatically reduced funding levels across the entire field.
Parts of the MFTF have since been re-used on newer fusion experiments, one such re-use winning a recycling award.
Magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generating fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine the hot fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being inertial confinement fusion. The magnetic approach is...
device built using the magnetic mirror
Magnetic mirror
A magnetic mirror is a magnetic field configuration where the field strength changes when moving along a field line. The mirror effect results in a tendency for charged particles to bounce back from the high field region....
, or so-called "yin-yang" design. It was designed and built at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
(LLNL), one of the primary research centers for mirror fusion devices. The project was canceled just before operation was to start.
Following on from the earlier Baseball II device, the facility was originally a similar system in which the confinement area was located between two horseshoe-shaped "mirrors". During construction, however, the success of the Tandem Mirror Experiment ("TMX") led to a redesign to insert a solenoid
Solenoid
A solenoid is a coil wound into a tightly packed helix. In physics, the term solenoid refers to a long, thin loop of wire, often wrapped around a metallic core, which produces a magnetic field when an electric current is passed through it. Solenoids are important because they can create...
area between two such magnets, dramatically improving confinement time from a few milliseconds to over one second.
Most of the fusion power would be produced in the long solenoid, the yin-yang magnets serving only to dam up the ends in order to maintain good plasma confinement in the solenoid. Limited to break-even energy balance, the magnetic mirror endcaps actually consume power, but much less than that produced in a solenoid of sufficient length. The new version, officially MFTF-B, started construction in 1977 and was completed in 1986, on the very day the project was canceled by the Reagan administration Department of Energy. No experiments were performed. Rollbacks in fusion research funding dramatically reduced funding levels across the entire field.
Parts of the MFTF have since been re-used on newer fusion experiments, one such re-use winning a recycling award.