Credit Hours:3-0-3
Prerequisites:NRE 6102 or equivalent, or with the consent of the instructor
Catalog Description:Classical and collective transport phenomena, plasma instabilities, plasma-materials interactions and plasma edge physics. Emphasis on magnetic fusion, plasma processing and other plasma applications research.
Textbooks:None
Instructors:W. M. Stacey
Goals:This course is intended to provide the student with the background in the physics of fully and partially ionized plasmas necessary for understanding and contributing to the current research of the field of magnetic fusion plasma physics. The course is also intended to provide an advanced treatment of topics of importance in plasma processing and other plasma applications.
Topics:
  • Transport
    • classical and collective turbulent transport phenomena in plasmas
    • transport barriers
    • plasma rotation
    • transport of impurity ions
    • neutral atoms and molecules in plasmas
    • Physical modeling of fusion plasmas, etc.
  • Instabilities
    • MHD
    • drift-wave
    • resistive tearing
    • thermal
    • instabilities in plasmas
    • Role of instabilities in determining density limits, transport barriers and other observed phenomena.
  • Plasma-Materials Interactions
    • surface physics
    • sheath theory and electric fields
    • atomic/molecular-plasma reactions
    • radiation
    • Physical modeling of fusion plasma edges, plasma processing reactors, etc.
  • Other topics of current importance in fusion or plasma processing research.