The Joint European Torus (JET) was a magnetically confined plasma physics experiment, located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, UK. Based on a tokamak design, the fusion research facility was a joint European project with the main purpose of opening the way to future nuclear fusion grid energy. At the time of its design JET was larger than any comparable machine.
JET in 1991
Design of JET
Internal view of the JET tokamak superimposed with an image of a plasma taken with a visible spectrum video camera.
Magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of controlled fusion research, along with inertial confinement fusion.
A typical plasma in the MAST spherical tokamak machine at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the UK.
Concept of a toroidal fusion reactor
Cutaway view of the current design for the SPARC reactor