tokamak

[ toh-kuh-mak, tok-uh- ]

nounPhysics.

a type of experimental nuclear fusion reactor in which a plasma of atoms circulates in a toroidal tube and is confined to a narrow beam by an electromagnetic field.

Origin of tokamak

1960–65; <Russian tokamák, acronym from toroidálʾnaya kámera s aksiálʾnym magnítnym pólem toroidal chamber with an axial magnetic field

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British Dictionary definitions for tokamak

tokamak

/ (ˈtɒkəˌmæk) /

noun

physics a toroidal reactor used in thermonuclear experiments, in which a strong helical magnetic field keeps the plasma from contacting the external walls. The magnetic field is produced partly by current-carrying coils and partly by a large inductively driven current through the plasma

Origin of tokamak

C20: from Russian to (roidál'naya) kám (era s) ak (siál'nym magnitnym pólem), toroidal chamber with magnetic field

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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