Images Dated 20th March 1992

Tokamak-15 fusion research reactor, Kurchatov Inst

Nuclear fusion research. View of Tokamak 15, a nuclear fusion research reactor. The ring-shaped tokamak design (also known as a torus) is most favoured by nuclear fusion researchers. The ring contains a plasma, a mixture of deuterium and tritium at a temperature of up to 100 million Celsius. To keep the plasma confined and away from the walls of the tokamak, very powerful magnets enclose the reactor vessel. At sufficiently high temperatures, the deuterium and tritium nuclei fuse, generating helium and energetic neutrons. It is these neutrons which carry energy out of the reactor. Photographed at the Kurchatov Institute, Moscow

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY