This book deals with the specific contact between the fourth state of matter, i.e. plasma, and the first state of matter, i.e. a solid wall, in controlled fusion experiments. A comprehensive analysis of the main processes of plasma-surface interaction is given together with an assessment of the most critical questions within the context of general criteria and operation limits. It also contains a survey on other important aspects in nuclear fusion.

Controlled thermonuclear fusion is one of the possible candidates for long term energy sources which will be indispensable for our highly technological society. However, the physics and technology of controlled fusion are extremely complex and still require a great deal of research and development before fusion can be a practical energy source. For producing energy via controlled fusion a deuterium-tritium gas has to be heated to temperatures of a few 100 Million °c corres ponding to about 10 keV. For net energy gain, this hot plasma has to be confined at a certain density for a certain time One pro mising scheme to confine such a plasma is the use of i~tense mag netic fields. However, the plasma diffuses out of the confining magnetic surfaces and impinges on the surrounding vessel walls which isolate the plasma from the surrounding air. Because of this plasma wall interaction, particles from the plasma are lost to the walls by implantation and are partially reemitted into the plasma. In addition, wall atoms are released and can enter the plasma. These wall atoms or impurities can deteriorate the plasma performance due to enhanced energy losses through radiation and an increase of the required magnetic pressure or a dilution of the fuel in the plasma. Finally, the impact of the plasma and energy on the wall can modify and deteriorate the thermal and mechanical pro perties of the vessel walls.

It became clear in the early days of fusion research that the effects of the containment vessel (erosion of "impurities") degrade the overall fusion plasma performance. Progress in controlled nuclear fusion research over the last decade has led to magnetically confined plasmas that, in turn, are sufficiently powerful to damage the vessel structures over its lifetime. This book reviews current understanding and concepts to deal with this remaining critical design issue for fusion reactors. It reviews both progress and open questions, largely in terms of available and sought-after plasma-surface interaction data and atomic/molecular data related to these "plasma edge" issues.

This revised and enlarged second edition of the popular textbook and reference contains comprehensive treatments of both the established foundations of magnetic fusion plasma physics and of the newly developing areas of active research. It concludes with a look ahead to fusion power reactors of the future. The well-established topics of fusion plasma physics -- basic plasma phenomena, Coulomb scattering, drifts of charged particles in magnetic and electric fields, plasma confinement by magnetic fields, kinetic and fluid collective plasma theories, plasma equilibria and flux surface geometry, plasma waves and instabilities, classical and neoclassical transport, plasma-materials interactions, radiation, etc. -- are fully developed from first principles through to the computational models employed in modern plasma physics. The new and emerging topics of fusion plasma physics research -- fluctuation-driven plasma transport and gyrokinetic/gyrofluid computational methodology, the physics of the divertor, neutral atom recycling and transport, impurity ion transport, the physics of the plasma edge (diffusive and non-diffusive transport, MARFEs, ELMs, the L-H transition, thermal-radiative instabilities, shear suppression of transport, velocity spin-up), etc. -- are comprehensively developed and related to the experimental evidence. Operational limits on the performance of future fusion reactors are developed from plasma physics and engineering constraints, and conceptual designs of future fusion power reactors are discussed.

The present volume of Atomic and Plasma-Material Interaction Data for Fusion presents the results of a coordinated research project (CRP) on Atomic Data for Heavy Element Impurities in Fusion Reactors. In accordance with priorities in fusion energy research, data sets related to heavy element impurities are essential in plasma modelling. For example, such as data on the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon, on the likely wall material tungsten, and on other possible impurities. Much of the work in this CRP focused on possible impurities such as chlorine, iron and silicon. The publication provides fundamental experimental and calculated data for radiative and collisional atomic processes as well as results of collisional-radiative (CR) models. The data are of interest for the interpretation of spectroscopic measurements on current and future fusion experiments, the modelling of tungsten in fusion plasma, and the design and optimization of fusion reactor experiments.

Resulting from ongoing, international research into fusion processes, the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a major step in the quest for a new energy source.The first graduate-level text to cover the details of ITER, Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics introduces various aspects and issues of recent fusion research activities through the shortest access path. The distinguished author breaks down the topic by first dealing with fusion and then concentrating on the more complex subject of plasma physics. The book begins with the basics of controlled fusion research, followed by discussions on tokamaks, reversed field pinch (RFP), stellarators, and mirrors. The text then explores ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities, resistive instabilities, neoclassical tearing mode, resistive wall mode, the Boltzmann equation, the Vlasov equation, and Landau damping. After covering dielectric tensors of cold and hot plasmas, the author discusses the physical mechanisms of wave heating and noninductive current drive. The book concludes with an examination of the challenging issues of plasma transport by turbulence, such as magnetic fluctuation and zonal flow. Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics clearly and thoroughly promotes intuitive understanding of the developments of the principal fusion programs and the relevant fundamental and advanced plasma physics associated with each program.