PLASMA AND FUSION SCIENCE: 16th IAEA Technical Meeting on Research using Small Fusion Devices AND XI Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics

16th IAEA Technical Meeting on Research using Small Fusion Devices AND XI Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics

J. Julio E. Herrera Velázquez, UNAM, Institute for Nuclear Studies, México, D.F., México

Conference Location and Date: Mexico City, Mexico, 30 November - 9 December 2005

Subseries: Plasma Physics

Published December 2006; ISBN 978-0-7354-0375-8, One Volume, Print; 550 pages; 8.5 X 11 inches, double column; Hardcover; $247.00

Readership: Physicists and graduate students interested in nuclear fusion research, plasma science applications, plasma focus, dense z-pinches, tokamaks, spherical tokamaks; spheromaks; stellerators; as well as thin layer deposition.

Nuclear fusion research is usually associated with high cost mega-projects, only accessible to groups with access to very large budgets. However, some laboratories at university level and developing countries are making their own contribution to the field. The 16th IAEA Technical Meeting on Research using Small Fusion Devices provided a forum for this work. Some of its participants were the members of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project "Joint Research using Small Tokamaks", which showed how small fusion devices can play an important role under the guidance of an international cooperation, which includes researchers acquainted with the work on larger machines. The contribution of innovative concepts, such as that of the spheromak was also highlighted, along with that of the ubiquitous dense magnetized plasmas, which encompass the dense z-pinch and plasma focus. Research on the latter stressed their importance as plasma based radiation sources for a wide range of applications.

The XI Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics followed, showing the health of the plasma physics community in the region, in spite of the usual economic hardships. The breadth of the topics covered in this workshop also showed how these research groups have adapted in different ways, according to their economic constraints. It was interesting to note how collaboration between research groups across the borders has ensued.

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