What is a tokamak reactor?
A Tokamak is a machine that creates a doughnut-shaped magnetic field; a plasma (basically a bunch of ionized atoms, each with a positive or negative charge) gets trapped in the magnetic field, which we call being “confined” by the field. By manipulating the magnetic field and the quantity of plasma, extremely high pressures and temperatures can be attained. For this reason, the Tokamak design is used for fusion research—the hope is that the ions and electrons in the plasma can be squeezed so close together that they will overcome electrical repulsion and fuse together, releasing energy in the process. (Two positively-charged ions, for example, experience strong electrical forces that push them apart when they get close together, but if they get close enough, nuclear forces can overcome the repulsion, and the ions can fuse to form a larger one.) Fusion happens all the time in extreme environments—the interior of the Sun, for example, where it provides the enrgy for our star to shine—but
