Multiple choice

There are two ways to achieve the temperature and pressure necessary for hydrogen fusion to take place. Which of the following processes does a tokamak nuclear reactor employ to achieve conditions of fusion?

  1. Magnetic Confinement
  2. Inertial Confinement

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2

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A Correct answer
Explanation

Magnetic confinement uses magnetic and electric fields to heat and squeeze the hydrogen plasma.Microwaves, electricity and neutral particle beams from accelerators heat a stream of hydrogen gas. This heating turns the gas into plasma. This plasma gets squeezed by super-conducting magnets, thereby allowing fusion to occur. The most efficient shape for the magnetically confined plasma is a donut shape (toroid). A reactor of this shape is called a tokamak.The ITER project in France is using this method.