Stellarator

stellarator [′stel·ə‚rād·ər]

(plasma physics)

A device for confining a high-temperature plasma, consisting of a tube, which closes in on itself in a figure-eight or race-track configuration, and external coils which generate magnetic fields whose lines of force run parallel to the walls of the tube and prevent the plasma from touching the walls.

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Stellarator 

a closed magnetic trap for the confinement of a high-temperature plasma. It was proposed in 1951 by L. Spitzer, Jr., of the USA in connection with the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion. The magnetic field in a stellarator is generated by means of external conductors. The lines of force are modified by a rotational transform, as a result of which the lines repeatedly go around the torus and form a system of closed, interleaved toroidal magnetic surfaces. The rotational transform may be achieved by the geometrical deformation of the toroidal solenoid (for example, by twisting it into a figure eight) or by means of helical conductors wound on the torus.