Sample interview questions: Describe your knowledge of plasma heating mechanisms and their applications.
Sample answer:
Plasma Heating Mechanisms and Applications
Inductive Heating (Ohmic Heating)
– Uses electric current to generate heat directly within the plasma.
– Applicable for tokamak and stellarator devices.
– Produces uniform heating but can be limited by magnetic field strength.
Neutral Beam Injection (NBI)
– Injects high-energy neutral atoms into the plasma.
– Collisions between atoms and plasma particles transfer energy.
– Produces localized heating and drives plasma current.
– Used in tokamaks, stellarators, and fusion reactors.
Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH)
– Transmits high-frequency electromagnetic waves into the plasma.
– Waves resonate with electron cyclotron motion, transferring energy.
– Produces highly localized heating and can control plasma rotation.
– Used in tokamaks, stellarators, and helicity injected tokamaks (HITs).
Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH)
– Similar to ECRH, but targets ions instead of electrons.
– Provides direct heating to ions, overcoming charge separation effects.
– Used in tokamaks, stellarators, and spherical tokamaks.
Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD)
– Injects electr… Read full answer